Stokes credits Farbrace for instilling belief in him

England allrounder Ben Stokes has described the faith shown in him by England assistant coach Paul Farbrace in 2015 as a turning point in his career.
Farbrace asked Stokes to bat at six during his tenure as imterim head coach after the sacking of Peter Moores.
Since being returned to that number six slot Stokes has not looked back striking five Test centuries including a double ton against South Africa.
With Farbrace set to take charge of the England T20I side for their meetings with Australia and India, Stokes feels he is someone who can instill that same self-belief in others.
Stokes said: “I think that was the turning point for me in international cricket.
“It’s a place where I made my debut, batting at No 6 and being that fourth bowler. I was then in and out of the team and if I was in I was batting at 8.
“So when Farby gave me the opportunity to come back into the side at No 6 again there was that self-belief, knowing that I’ve done this role successfully, whether for England or back at Durham.
“Farby is great at getting the best out of the individual – even for myself, who has played quite a lot over the last three years, he is constantly saying go out, do what you do best and commit to it.
“He’s like that with everyone, whether it’s an experienced guy or a young guy coming in for their first couple of games.”
ALSO READ: England players make significant strides in ODI rankings
Stokes says that once the fear of failure is gone it allows a player to focus on executing what they need to out in the middle.
“When you get that free rein to go out and express yourself as we have done, then that fear and worry of what the reaction might be like in the changing room if it doesn’t come off is gone,” he said.
“You are one hundred per cent committed to what you want to execute out in the middle and as we have been so consistent, we are going to do it more consistently.
“There is no fluke in the turnaround happening so quickly and so well. We have literally every base covered in white-ball cricket.
“Back then compared to now there is a completely different mindset within the team and the management.
“I think we broke it down a bit more back then in terms of 50 overs, whereas now the guys get the responsibility to assess conditions and then make their decisions based on that which, I think, is why we are getting these huge totals consistently.”
Quiz: Test your knowledge of the career of Jimmy Anderson
Stokes feels that the missing link for England’s ODI side is being able to get defendable totals on pitches that aren’t great for batting.
“One thing we touched on was that we are great at getting 350-plus but not so good at getting the 250s that might win you games on slow pitches,” added Stokes.
“Working out those wickets is what we probably need to do to take our cricket to the next level.
“We need to understand we are not going to get wickets like Trent Bridge all the time and if we can get scores of 280, 290, even 300, then hopefully we can stay at No 1.”
Latest
-
News
Chris Silverwood backs ‘fighter’ Dan Lawrence to make step up to Test cricket
The Essex batsmen is in line for an England Test debut against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
-
News
Ravichandran Ashwin condemns alleged racial abuse of Mohammed Siraj by SCG fans
Play was halted on day four of the third Test between Australia and India while six spectators were escorted out of Sydney Cricket Ground by police.
-
News
Investigation launched after Indian players allegedly abused by crowd in Sydney
Play was held up while police and security guards escorted six people from Sydney Cricket Ground.
-
News
Jos Buttler determined to keep standards high with gloves and bat in Sri Lanka
The 30-year-old has Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow for competition in the England side.
-
News
England’s Dom Bess thinks pitch for Friday’s warm-up won’t be repeated in series
England finally took to the pitch in Hambantota for a low-key workout between Team Root and Team Buttler.
-
News
Proteas name Test squad for Pakistan tour
South Africa have named a 21-man touring party for the two-Test series in Pakistan.
-
News
Smith makes distinction between out of runs and out of form
Steve Smith put paid to the suggestion he was out of form with a fighting hundred against India.
-
News
England warm-up under way in Sri Lanka
The touring squad has returned a second round of clear Covid-19 tests following Moeen Ali’s positive result.
-
News
Jack Leach awaiting Covid vaccine news after ‘scary’ vulnerable classification
The England spinner takes medication for Crohn’s disease, leaving his immune system weakened.
-
News
Jonny Bairstow ready to tap into Jacques Kallis class during Sri Lanka tour
The England batsman is enthused about working with the Proteas great.