Stokes’ development against spin ‘top class’

Trevor Bayliss believes Ben Stokes could develop into one of the “all-time best allrounders” following his Man-of-the-Match performance in Chittagong.

Bayliss, the England coach, made the comments after Stokes helped seal victory with 103 runs and six wickets in the match. Bayliss was particularly impressed with Stokes’ improvement against spin bowling on the sort of low, slow pitches on which he has struggled in the past.

Coming to the crease in the second innings with England precariously placed on 46 for 4, Stokes compiled 85 in just over three hours with his trademark power complemented by some tight defence and mature rotation of the strike. He also gained reverse swing and generated impressive pace on a sluggish surface.

“He could be right up there with some of the all-time best allrounders,” Bayliss said. “He’s young into his career and that’s going to be easier to judge the longer he goes. Only time will tell.

“But the strides he’s made on the subcontinent playing spin have been top class. It wasn’t all that long ago we were wondering how he might go on spin-friendly wickets, but he’s a guy that works extremely hard in the nets.

“It’s his defence to spin that has improved out of sight. We know that if he gets a bad ball he can hit anything over the fence, but you’ve got to be there to get that loose ball. In the past he probably hasn’t had a lot of footwork, has played from the crease and backed his eye and his hands. But as we’ve seen on this tour, in the one-dayers and this Test, he’s defended really well off the front foot, got right out and smothered the ball before it had a chance to spin and jump past the outside edge.”

It is not the first time Stokes has won high praise from an international coach. During England’s tour of the Caribbean in 2015, the then West Indies coach, Phil Simmons, remarked that Stokes was “in the mould of Jacques Kallis” and wished …

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