NASSET HUSSAIN: Stokes has been superb as skipper, now he must show his brilliance again as a player

At the beginning of the summer, England needed a change of culture and needed Ben Stokes the captain.

Right now, though, 1-0 down to South Africa with two Tests to play, they need Stokes the player to return.

I have been mightily impressed with him, especially in those first four games against New Zealand and India.

Sure, it is very easy to praise a captain when they win all four, but it has been his tactical decisions that have impressed me most.

After two or three years of dressing room thinking that was scrambled for a variety of reasons, his vision has been refreshingly clear and has taken away the fear of failure.

The decisions he made and the fields he set, the way he used Jack Leach in an attacking manner and neglected the temptation to put men back all the time, were eye-catching.

And even though watching him in the World Cup final and 2019 Ashes suggested this very smart cricketer would be like this as captain, until the individual does the job, you do not know exactly what they are going to be like.

England need Stokes to rediscover his form with South Africa leading 1-0 and two Tests to play

However, turning around his contribution as a top-six player is paramount.

He has not made a half-century since his second week in the job in June.

The one thing I will say about how he has batted in this period is that he is obviously trying to set the tone for the new culture of the team.

But the words of Keith Fletcher, the former England coach and a former Essex captain, have stuck with me from when I was handed the Test captaincy.

It was a brilliant job, Fletcher said, but an even better one if you are contributing personally with runs and fulfilling your main role for the team.

Stokes can change games as a bowler but England must be wary of causing physical damage

With Stokes, one of England’s greatest ever all-rounders, this feels doubly important. If I were to advise him anything, it would be to get his head down. Technically, behind Joe Root he is the next best player in the team and he should focus on his own game.

Yes, be positive, set the tone, but do it by getting a lot of runs. It is also important he looks after himself when he bowls by limiting the length of his spells. You could see in the field during the first Test defeat at Lord’s that he hobbles around at times in real pain and it makes me squirm.

Let’s be honest, every bowler plays with some part of their body hurting, but there is a cut-off point when you begin doing physical damage that is no good for you or the team.

Cricket is funny because I don’t know any other sport which allows someone to carry on injured. I understand why he felt the need to come on with the ball last week — he changes games as a bowler too, as he proved at Edgbaston against India — but the medical team, and Stokes himself, have to keep an eye on this area.

He is a true leader and I am incredibly proud of him for talking so openly about mental health in his new documentary, which comes out on Amazon Prime tomorrow. He is someone who will look after every member of that England team and the message he has sent to every professional cricketer is ‘it’s ok not to be ok’.

Stokes has spoken openly about mental health in his new documentary on Amazon Prime

He also continually stands up to the establishment and I am someone who likes people that speak their minds and refuse to toe a party line.

The ECB knew the kind of guy he was when they appointed him in the spring. With strong character comes strong opinions.

But let’s face it, if the England cricket captain does not have opinions on things, why should anyone else below him?

He is the one that is hung out to dry when the team loses, so when he sees a schedule that he thinks is ridiculous he will call it out, tell you players cannot be treated like cars filled up at petrol stations, or that there should be no cut in County Championship cricket.

When you appoint someone like Ben Stokes as captain, he is not going to shrink into the shadows. When he has a statement to make, we should listen to him. Although, let’s hope his next statement is made with bat in hand.