Ben Stokes sure England players are buying into management’s message ahead of return in second Test against Pakistan

Ben Stokes says his spell watching from the sidelines has left him convinced England’s players are buying into his message of togetherness as he prepares to make his return in the second Test against Pakistan.

Stokes injured his hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred in August and has missed four Test matches as a result.

However, he has been in and around the camp throughout his rehab, allowing stand in captain Ollie Pope to take the reins while also ensuring his influence is still present.

And that watching brief – for the home series against Sri Lanka and, particularly, during the first-Test win in Pakistan – allowed Stokes to witness at a distance the values he and coach Brendon McCullum have sought to instil in the side.

“When you are out in the middle, there are a few things you don’t get the chance to see or observe because you are thinking about other things, but when you are actually sitting on the sidelines, you realise how committed everyone out on the field is to the very small things that me and Baz (McCullum) constantly ask of everyone,” Stokes told Sky Sports.

“Running after the ball to the boundary, backing the bowlers up, all the small things that in the bigger picture mean a hell of a lot.

“When the bowlers are bowling in this heat and see the ball hit through the field and someone sprinting chasing after it to stop a boundary, pulling out a dive… they don’t always get there, but it is that sense that we are all in it together which is one of the most notable things for me, especially when you are the person trying to deliver those words.

“When you get to stand back and watch it in action, you realise that what you are saying is working and is really hitting home with these guys.

“There is no individual bigger than the team and I have really noticed that the 11 guys out in the field really embody that.

“It is all well and fine doing it in England, but I think you sense the real togetherness and team spirit we have got when you get out here and the 40-degree heat, wicket not doing much, and people are throwing themselves about, bowlers are running in spell after spell, that kind of stuff signifies we have got a really good team atmosphere and environment going on.”

Stokes returns to the side for the second Test against Pakistan in Multan after recovering from his torn hamstring, coming in at No 6, with Matthew Potts also selected alongside the captain and Brydon Carse in an all-Durham pace attack.

While Stokes is back in the side as an all-rounder, he is hopeful that England’s spinners will do the bulk of the bowling given the likelihood the match will be played on a used pitch – the same one on which the tourists’ pulled off their stunning first-Test victory in Multan.

“You still have to be sensible. The injury that has happened to me is a hamstring, it is a very important part of the body, especially as an athlete,” he said.

“But I guess playing on a used wicket, I could look at it and say it does help. You would like to say that is going to be more spin-friendly.

“You have got to give yourself some kind of clue of what it is going to do, so coming back from injury it does kind of help things before we have bowled a ball [knowing we are] playing on a used pitch.”

Pope’s exposure to captaincy will help him in the long run

Stokes’ return ends Pope’s brief foray into Test captaincy, during which he won three of his four matches in charge.

For Stokes, Pope’s “exposure” to being a top-order batter alongside the captaincy will stand him in good stead in the future.

“Authority, just that word in itself, can come across a bit like a dictator. No one in that dressing room certainly is that,” Stokes said.

“I said it before when asked about this, being stand-in captain is harder than being captain because you know you are only doing it for a certain amount of games and you are trying to still push forward what the current captain is doing.

“Popey has been involved under my captaincy from day one so there was a lot of easy and natural ways to continue doing that, but what he also did was put his own stamp on things which were massively encouraged by myself and Baz.

“For such a young player who has got quite a lot of experience now, having that exposure to being a top-order batter but also captain will be really, really good for him in the long-term and I think he has done a great job.

“His winning percentage is better than mine. I think – winning three out of four Tests – he has done a great job and should be very proud of what he has achieved while I have been injured.”

Live Test Cricket

Tuesday 15th October 5:30am

England: Zak Crawley, ⁠Ben Duckett, ⁠Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, ⁠Matt Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

Pakistan: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Zahid Mehmood.

First Test: Multan – October 7-11 – England won by an innings and 47 runs

Second Test: Multan – October 15-19

Third Test: Rawalpindi – October 24-28

Every match from the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup is also live on Sky Sports from October 3-20 with Australia aiming for a third straight title and seventh overall, and England seeking to triumph for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2009.

Watch day one of the second Test between Pakistan and England in Multan, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 5.30am on Tuesday, ahead of play starting from 6am. Stream with NOW