Former England wicket-keeper Alec Stewart was all praise for Ben Foakes and added that currently, he is faster behind the stumps in comparison to MS Dhoni. During a recent interview, Stewart was asked about Foakes who has impressed with his glovework in the ongoing Test series against India and the former cricketer was quick to compare him to one of the modern greats in the sport. “He does things that no one else can do. His hand speed is second to none,” Stewart told The Times.
“MS Dhoni had quick hands but Foakes has the quickest hands in the game and the ball stays in them,” the former wicketkeeper said.
Stewart also spoke at length about how Foakes was aware of how much spin bowling he will have to keep against in India and what changes he made to his training.
“He knew there would be a lot of spin bowling so it (his training) was 80-20 in favour of his standing-up stuff, which he's brilliant at anyway — the ball bouncing, the ball turning, the ball keeping low. That's why I was so pleased for him, after all the hours he's put in, and then he gets rewarded with some of the catches he took."
“We'd discuss the position of his feet, the height he gets, where his hands are. He leads it. We used the Merlin spin machine, mats that spin or one with holes cut in them, so that some spin and some bounce. We do it from 22 yards, or from ten or 11 yards. He knows what he wants to work on and we've done that since he joined us in 2014 from Essex.”
“I said a while ago he's the best in the world and, but for circumstances, he could be coming up to playing 50 or 60 Tests, but I get the need to balance the side and that's why he's not played (more). People should not underestimate his batting,” he added.