Ben Stokes helped revolutionize English cricket, but his team is still 2-0 behind Australia after two Ashes tests. Photo: Getty Images/Gareth Copley
Ben Stokes has inspired his players to play freely, but they haven't yet learned to follow their skipper's lead in how to play the match. It was enough for five exciting and sometimes maddening days of sports TV, but, alas, not for victory.
During lunch break yesterday, Sky Sports Cricket aired an excerpt from Nasser Hussain's current leadership documentary, Secrets of Success. Combined with the former Ash captains' chorus, presented by the broadcaster, the viewer could accept an invitation to reflect on what it means to lead people.
An excellent list of sports leaders who illuminate their philosophy includes one B. A. Stokes, who tells Hussain that “people follow you out of admiration, not out of fear.” While it's impossible to imagine that anyone on this English side doesn't have a huge amount of respect for Stokes, it may be time for him to start bumping heads against each other.
Hussain's film provided amazing access: “The most stellar one is Jurgen Klopp , but there are also heavyweights from other sports, including former Ryder Cup supreme champion Paul McGinley, Judy Murray, Toto Wolff, Christian Horner and Sir Ian McGeechan.
The role of cricket captain is unique and Stokes is the only one who has to lead and play at the same time. Is it enough, as Stokes does, to improve his game and be the best player in the most important moments to lead by example? None of his spiritual predecessors, such as box office box office England, Andrew Flintoff and Lord Botham, were successful captains.
It is said that Botham had the same blind spot as Glenn Hoddle, unable to put himself in the shoes of the less talented, strife-baffled mere mortals. Flintoff had his own version of an impossible task: the Ashes away against a legendary Australian team obsessed with a 2005 rematch, his own problems off the field, a team in transition.
KP fills a niche as the fiery brimstone former captain
The majority of those interviewed by Hussain consider empathetic important, which seems to be Stokes, much more so than Flintoff and Botham. McGinley credits his mental ability to manage the Ryder Cup to his relatively modest career: “I never had incredible talent. I had to think very deeply about the game in order to be able to compete.”
Klopp has been known to be a limited player, but like Stokes, he's a guy with vibes who can get people to follow him with the power of passion. For about two minutes it looked like Kevin Pietersen could pull off this trick when he himself was the skipper of the England team, but his – how should I put it? – ruled out this unique interpersonal style. KP is carving a niche for himself on Sky as a former captain who is short-tempered and mean, denouncing England as “absolutely disorderly” and urging the manager to give them the “biggest blow”.
In this note, Klopp tells Hussain that “we also have hair dryers here [at Anfield], but they're not as famous as Alex Ferguson's because we keep them private.”
It's hard to be sure as an underdog, but it's unlikely that Stokes would have pitched Fergie-style to anyone. In contrast to the selection of batsmen's shots, the discipline of the messages from the team was admirable; The guys, of course, master the interview's remarks about the positive, and they focus on the process. But the public appetite for the phrase “defeat is not a disgrace if it entertains” will soon subside, given the current opposition.
Maybe it's time for leader Stokes to add another line to his bow: both Wolf and Horner are interesting in Hussain's film is about how to deal with mavericks, when a leader should let people make mistakes and do things their way, and when people should stick to a program.
Sir Ian McGeechan, as always wise , says that “talent must learn to play with the team; then the team can play with talent.” Difficult as hell, but perhaps the next level for a Stokes leader is knowing when to demand abstinence rather than encourage self-expression. In the end, all the gurus chosen by Hussain have one thing in common: they have led teams to the biggest trophies in their sport. Stokes, for all his brilliance, has yet to do so.
Success Secrets (re-aired on Tuesday at 18:00 on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky On Demand)
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