Steve Smith is strange, I could never be like that: Ben Stokes

Steve Smith, the top-order batsman from Australia has emerged as a run-machine for his national side across all the formats. Moreover, his consistency in the longer format puts him in a very different category of batsmen in the modern era. He holds massive fan following across the globe. And, he has got another big fan added to that list and he is none other than Ben Stokes, the prolific all-rounder from England.

The right-handed batsman is currently ranked number one in the recently released Test batsmen’s rankings released by ICC. He is playing in the form of his life with the bat. In 2019, he single-handedly helped Australia to retain the Ashes on the back of his classical batting in England.

Ben Stokes heaps praise for Steve Smith as a cricketer

Ben Stokes, in a podcast organized by Rajasthan Royals, heaped praise for his IPL teammate and said that it is quite interesting to play with and against Steve Smith. According to him, a player needs to be strange if he wants to be a genius and the Aussie batsman is certainly one of them. The 28-year-old accepted the fact that he cannot match Smith, who has an average of more than 60 in Tests when it comes to batting.

“He’s still strange to play against and he’s still strange to play with. But I feel to be a genius you have to be a bit strange and he’s certainly both!. Personally, I could not think about cricket in the way that he does when it comes to batting. I could never be like that. Obviously, he’s on all the time but that’s why he averages 60-plus in Test cricket. That’s not for me but it’s for him. Who is to say who’s right or wrong,” Stokes said in the podcast.

The England all-rounder also gave his opinion on the longer format of the game. He feels that it is the purest form of the game. According to Stokes, if the rules of Test cricket are going to change then its name should also be kept “Easy Cricket” as well.

“For me, Test cricket is the pinnacle. It has to stay around, it would be a sad, sad day if Test cricket was changed. If they are going to change the rules, I think they should call it, ‘Easy cricket’!” added Stokes.