Pope says Stokes has ‘changed the game’ as he prepares for 100th Test

Ollie Pope described Ben Stokes as a player who has “changed the game” as the England captain prepares to play his 100th Test match.

Reflecting on Stokes’ international career, Pope said: “For anyone to play 100 Tests is an unbelievable achievement.

“He’s obviously had his highs and his lows in his career but what he’s done since he’s been captain’s been amazing.

“There’s so many special moments you can look back at his career and think, jeez, this guy has probably changed the game a lot in a lot of respects.”

Stokes made his Test debut against Australia in Adelaide in 2013 and he has enjoyed many highlights since.

Stand-out moments include his huge 258 from 198 balls against South Africa in 2016 in Cape Town and his remarkable unbeaten 135 which took England to victory in the Headingley Ashes Test of 2019.

“He’s just got a way of bringing out the very best of him when it means the most to the team,” Pope said.

“Even in the Ashes in the summer at Lord’s, I just remember thinking how does he, he obviously takes it to a new level when all the pressure’s on and I think the amount of times he’s done that over his career, over his 99 Tests so far is, so many unbelievable memories.

“Great to watch, great to be a part of and hopefully there’s many more for him.”

Since 2022, Stokes has captained the England Test team and changed the face of the game alongside head coach Brendon McCullum with their all-out positive approach to each match.

He has overseen 14 wins from 20 games since he took charge and will be hoping for more success in India, with the third Test getting underway in Rajkot on February 15 – live on TNT Sports.

After a short break between the matches, Pope has been able to reflect on the series.

“We’ve loved every bit of this India tour so far. Two competitive games of cricket that have been awesome to play in.

“The mood in our team’s good, it’s confident. We realise we’re coming up against one of the best teams in their own conditions so we realise that we need to be at the top of our game to succeed but the mood’s good.

“Feels like a good series, it’s going to be an exciting few games.”

How to watch India v England Test series on TNT Sports

TNT Sports is the new official broadcast home of England men’s tours of India in 2024, 2025 and 2028.

TNT Sports has also agreed a deal to show exclusive live coverage of every red-ball and white-ball international series played in India for the next five years.

Cricket fans will not miss a single delivery, boundary or wicket of England’s five-Test tour in India in 2024.

The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.

You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

England’s five-Test tour of India in 2024 will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and TNT Sports will broadcast England’s white ball tour (3 x ODIs and 5 x T20s) of India in January-February 2025TNT Sports will broadcast England’s tour of India, currently scheduled for January-February 2028.

TNT Sports will not only broadcast England’s white ball tour (3 x ODIs and 5 x T20s) of India in January-February 2025, but will also show every red-ball and white-ball international series played in India for the next five years.

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

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