<p>On Day 3 of the first Ashes 2023 match, former Australian batter Ricky Ponting praised England captain Ben Stokes’ leadership and his creative field placement.</p>
<p>During Australia’s first innings in Birmingham, Stokes experimented with a variety of field placements and bowling strategies. On day three, a fairly unconventional field helped remove centurion Usman Khawaja.<img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” class=”alignnone wp-image-30473″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-ben-stokes-proactive-leadership-is-praised-by-ricky-ponting-as-great-because-hes-making-a-change-almost-every-ball-1685574905-stokes-750×500.jpg” alt=”” width=”1319″ height=”879″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-ben-stokes-proactive-leadership-is-praised-by-ricky-ponting-as-great-because-hes-making-a-change-almost-every-ball-1685574905-stokes-750×500.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-ben-stokes-proactive-leadership-is-praised-by-ricky-ponting-as-great-because-hes-making-a-change-almost-every-ball-1685574905-stokes-768×512.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-ben-stokes-proactive-leadership-is-praised-by-ricky-ponting-as-great-because-hes-making-a-change-almost-every-ball-1685574905-stokes.jpg 900w” sizes=”(max-width: 1319px) 100vw, 1319px” /></p>
<p>Following Alex Carey’s removal, Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins and Khawaja settled in, so England chose to stall the score with some unconventional bowling strategies. Centurion Khawaja was unnerved by a very strange pitch when Ollie Robinson yorked him to go for 141.</p>
<p>Stokes’ dedication to making progress, according to Ponting, is a great boost for the Test match.</p>
<p>It’s challenging to keep up with them all, but it’s nice that the captain is being proactive by changing virtually every ball. He always tries to advance the game and is searching for every opportunity to pick up a wicket and alter the flow of play, Ponting told the ICC.</p>
<p>“With Khawaja’s innings, I’d hate to try and tally how many field changes, bowling adjustments and tactical adjustments he did to try and get Khawaja out – and then it eventually worked.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a pitch in Test cricket quite like that. Just a circle of fielders were present in front of the hitter. And all of it came down to being able to bowl a yorker and a few slower balls. It’s amazing stuff. It’s incredibly encouraging for the Test match to see a squad play this manner and a skipper willing to give it his best, he said.</p>
<p>England was 28/2 at stumps on day three, leading by 35 after bowling Australia out for 386 in their first innings.</p>
