Ben Stokes believes a change in mindset has been central to his reappointment as England vice-captain.
Stokes was Joe Root’s right-hand man when he took over the Test captaincy from Alastair Cook in 2017 but had lost the job by the end of that year after his involvement in a brawl in Bristol, an incident which also saw him dropped from the England team.
This year has gone rather better for Stokes, who was man of the match in the World Cup final after dragging England into a dramatic Super Over against New Zealand.
Ashley Giles, the managing director of the England men’s team, yesterday described it as the next logical step for the “heartbeat” of the team.
With the Ashes starting on Thursday, the all-rounder said his reappointment as Test vice-captain was down to his growing maturity.
Stokes said he has changed off the field since the ordeal of the court case in Bristol, which ended when he was found not guilty of affray.
The all-rounder told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’m not a different person. I think maturing is the best way to say it, having an understanding of a lot more things. One thing I have stopped is trying to please everyone, which was probably my downfall before.
“Trying to please everyone every minute of every day — that was something I always tried to do, whereas trying to keep the people happy who are important to you and who make an impact on your career is the way to go.
“When Joe and I were named captain and vice, it was a very proud moment to be given the recognition as one of the senior players and have that responsibility. To have that taken away was obviously very, very disappointing and it did hurt.
“Now to have it back before the Ashes starts — I’m just super-excited to be back next to Joe and helping him through all the ups and downs, not just through his captaincy career but his batting too, as England’s best batsman.
Ashes 2019: England's squad for the third Test
“We work well together and he doesn’t have a yes-man stood next to him, I will tell him what I think.”
Stokes knows England’s job this summer is only half done.
He said: “At the start of the summer we set out that we had the World Cup and Ashes.
“We have done 50 per cent of what we wanted to achieve.
“The next half is down to the next seven weeks. If I can go home saying I’ve won a World Cup and an Ashes in the same summer, I’m never going to be able to achieve that again.
“It’s such a special summer for English cricket and to be able to play in that is amazing. We desperately want to win the Ashes back and turn over the Aussies.”
