Melbourne [Australia], November 14 (ANI): Star England batter Joe Root expressed his committment to "repay the favour" to skipper Ben Stokes for giving his "everything" while helping him out as a Test captain, as the all-rounder is set for the first tour to Australia as a captain.
From his 122 at a tough, cracked and troubling surface at Perth's WACA Stadium back in 2013 in his early 20s, Stokes has come a long way from being a brash, hard-hitting all-rounder to a mastermind behind the chaos that is 'Bazball', alongside the head coach Brendon McCullum. Stokes-McCullum's positive and attacking brand of cricket would be put to the test in Australia, where England is yet to win a Test after their 2010/11 triumph.
Root feels that he owes Stokes a favour, who put his body through a lot of physical pain and his mind through agony to keep England's Test team above water when the white-ball teams of Eoin Morgan were the priorities of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) leading up to the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India and 2024 T20 World Cup in USA and West Indies, where England were to defend their titles and well, failed horribly.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Root said, "He (Stokes) threw everything into helping me out when I was England captain, put his body through a lot, and was able to take on the big moments in games, and bowl long spells," Root says of Stokes. "He would do everything he could to help my England team when I was captain, and it is now my opportunity and my turn to repay that favour," he added.

"As a senior player, whether that is in terms of performance on the field - that is the most important one - but also whether it is messaging within the team, trying to create something outside of the norm over this period, that is my role," he added.
Stokes has time and again predicted this to be a huge tour for Root, and both of them enjoy each other's confidence. Stokes is the one behind the environment that has allowed Root to flourish more than ever. Under Stokes' captaincy, Root has scored 2,883 runs at an average of 52.41, with 10 centuries and 12 fifties in 63 innings.
Root recalled that when the game was not going in the direction he wanted, Stokes was the person he would turn to during his days as a Test captain.
"He had always had that lead-from-the-front mentality in the way he went about things. Not that other guys did not, but he was the person I would always call upon, and you could see those leadership traits in him, in the way he played. That was always something he was naturally going to be good at when he took over as captain," he said.
"The other side of his captaincy is the most impressive bit - the way he has been able to create this environment where guys feel they can express themselves and become the best players their skill set can possibly be. He has created a really enjoyable team to be a part of."
"Sometimes even when things are not going well, if you can still create a good environment, you are more likely to turn things back in your favour, and he and Brendon [McCullum] are very good at making people feel confident and at their best as often as possible," he concluded.
The first Perth Test will start on November 21. (ANI)