EXCLUSIVE
Mark Wood reveals what has blown him away about Ben Stokes’ England captaincy during Ashes
Mark Wood has admitted he has been blown away by Ben Stokes' leadership as England captain.
This is the first Ashes series that Stokes has been named captain of after taking over as Test skipper from Joe Root in 2022.
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And the 32-year-old has proved decisive with bat and ball, as well as out in the field, encapsulating the new era of England coach Brendan McCullum's 'Bazball'.
When Stokes took over, England looked in trouble after just one win in 17 Tests, but a new form of aggressive cricket has got them back on track.
Despite losing the first two matches of the Ashes, England's win over Australia at Headingley has kept the series alive.
That was largely down to some brilliant bowling from Wood, taking 5-34 in the first innings, before chipping in with 40 runs across both England innings.
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However, Stokes was once again at his best as he pulled England out of a sticky situation to land 80 runs in the first innings to give them a fighting chance, turning out to be crucial as victory followed.
And Wood has lavished praise on Stokes for his captaincy and the Geordie's first response when asked by Natalie Sawyer live on talkSPORT was: "He's pretty good, like!"
Wood and Stokes both represent Durham domestically and he went on to say: "The way he speaks, I have known Ben for a long time, since we were probably 15/16 at Durham together. He has grown up so much.
"The way he speaks now, I didn't think he had them words in him. He is so articulate, the kid Ben Stokes I didn't think he had that in him.
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"He commands respect on the field, he leads by example, he is right up there."
There have been some criticisms levelled at England for being too pally during the Ashes this year with the Australians.
But Wood believes that is simply down to a mark of respect while the explosion of franchise cricket around the world has seen players from all countries mix a lot more.
Wood added: "There have been some incidents in the series that has spiced it up a bit. Australia, you always want to beat your rivals.
"The franchise cricket has sort of allowed people to get to know each other so I think that there is that respect, 100 per cent.
"I respect Australia massively, they are a fantastic team with fantastic players but when you are out there, you are desperate to win for England.
"These are must-win games now. There are no slip-ups allowed. So we will be doing everything we can to try and beat them. Just as they will try do with us."
The next Ashes Test will get underway at Old Trafford on July 19 in another match England must win or they will lose the series.
Join Steve Harmison on The Cricket Collective on talkSPORT 2 at 5pm on Tuesday to hear more on Mark Wood and The Ashes
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