‘It’s a very high ceiling’: Ben Stokes talks up ‘scary’ potential of England side

Ben Stokes described the potential of his team as “scary” after England brought down the curtain on their first summer under his captaincy by wrapping up a nine-wicket victory over South Africa at the Oval, their sixth win in seven matches since the start of June.

With the prospect of the side being bolstered by the return of several seamers from injury – including Jofra Archer and Mark Wood – by the time Australia visit next summer with the Ashes on the line, Stokes believes England’s future looks bright.

“It’s a great thing to think about,” Stokes said. “Who knows how far we can take this side over the next couple of years? Because we’ve got two of our premium fast bowlers who have had big injuries, so you add Jofra and Woody into the mix, it’s scary to think where things could go. And the batters we’ve got coming through – it’s a very high ceiling.”

The Test team’s next challenge will be to continue this form in the less familiar conditions of Pakistan in December, with Stokes taking the unusual step of encouraging his players to get carried away by their recent exploits. “I think it would be silly not to reflect on this summer, and not take too much from it because it’s a very special thing we’ve managed to achieve,” he said. “But it is something we are going to try to continue when we go to Pakistan. We can’t live off the fact that we’ve won six out of seven games, because we’ll be presented with a completely different challenge. We want to go there and continue the form we’ve shown, to walk towards that danger of what Pakistan is going to throw at us.”

Stokes also called on commentators not to be too critical when the positive approach he is encouraging does not pay dividends, warning of young players being