adminLONDON. — Ben Stokes insists he harbours no regrets after his first outing as England captain, despite sustaining the West Indies sealing a memorable fifth-day victory in the opening Test cricket.
Stokes was leading his country for the first time at the Ageas Bowl this week, with Joe Root temporarily absent due to the arrival of his second child, and did not duck the hard calls.
First he opted to go into the game without the benefit of Stuart Broad’s 138 caps and the 485 wickets that come with them and then he chose to bat first under heavy cloud cover on Wednesday morning.
Both decisions have attracted plenty of debate – with a searingly honest interview from Broad fanning scrutiny over his omission in favour of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer – and the tourists’ four-wicket victory denied Stokes any hope of delayed vindication.
Jermaine Blackwood’s match-winning 95 in a chase of 200 meant it was the West Indies who would be celebrating in the confines of the bio-secure Ageas Bowl, but Stokes stood firm at the close.
“I’ve really enjoyed the responsibility of leading the team and making decisions. We lost but I’m not going to look back with any regrets,” he said.
“We’re obviously disappointed, but I think we know where the moments were in the game where we lost it. I can’t fault anybody, they’re all absolutely exhausted in the changing room.
“The message I delivered to everybody today is that you leave everything out on that field, for the badge and the number under your badge.
“So I’m proud of each and every one of the lads out there.” — AFP.
Online Reporter