Test cricket has been spoken about in a way I don’t like: Ben Stokes

“Test cricket has been spoken about in a way I don’t like. It is losing the attention of the fans with all the new formats and franchise competitions,” said England red-ball skipper Ben Stokes, while speaking with former England skipper Ian Botham on a BBC Radio 4’s program, Stokes talked about various pressing issues in cricket. Excerpts-
On Test cricket
“Test cricket has been spoken about in a way I don’t like. It is losing the attention of the fans with all the new formats and franchise competitions. We understand there are so many opportunities for players away from Test cricket. But for me it is so important for the game. I love playing Test cricket and felt we could do something different.

“Taking the result away from the mindset is a great starting point. Putting focus on making every day entertaining. Not allowing people to know what is going to happen. If people turn up excited about what they are going to watch you’ve already won before a ball has been bowled.”
On Mental Health
“It is perceived that men shouldn’t be seen to show weakness, but I have never had an issue with expressing my feelings and opening up about It. I can’t tell you how much pride I had in myself for doing that after the messages I got from people I had never met.

“I was really blown away the effect that section of the documentary had on their lives, it pushed them to go and get help. Some of the messages were very emotional to read.”
On Headingley heroics
“Moments like that in sport should always be cherished. The miracle of Headingley 1981, everyone who knows cricket knows about that. So for my moment to be compared is pretty cool.

“Andrew Flintoff was the all-rounder for me growing up. Flintoff would have been compared to Botham and I got compared to Flintoff. The player I admired was South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs, he was ahead of his time and you look at Botham, he was ahead of his time as well. The way they move the game on. I love watching players who were different.”
On the rise of white-ball cricket
“The scheduling doesn’t get enough attention that it should. A great example is England’s one-day series against Australia after the T20 World Cup. That was shoving three games in there. It made sense to someone to schedule a series which meant nothing.

“Some people say ‘you are playing for England, that should be enough’. But there is a lot more to factor in. You want international cricket to be the highest standard. But we have seen a lot of different squads being picked and players being rested, and that’s not the way international cricket should go.”