Ben Stokes goes from the bars to the Ashes

From being arrested for engaging in a brawl with a policeman and unceremoniously being sent home from Australia by the England Lions for two breaches of discipline, Ben Stokes has turned his career around by winning the Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year award, and, more importantly, an Ashes call-up. In an interview with Andy Bull for the Observer, Stokes talks about his role as an allrounder.

So Stokes got his head down, started to be "more professional". He did, in short, exactly what England asked of him. Which is how he will carry on. He'd love the opportunity to play at No6, but right now he says he'll be happy to adapt to whatever job they want to give him. In the ODI series against Australia he was batting at No8 and bowling first change, "a different role from the one I am used to". Stokes still thinks of himself as a better batsman than a bowler. "I'm still learning a lot about bowling, but I have really come on in the last two years because of the responsibility that I have been given at Durham. I used to be guilty of trying to get a wicket every ball, but I've learned the game is not that easy. That's come with experience."