Ben Stokes' development to become an "extraordinary leader" for England's Test side was not something David Gower could have foreseen previously.
Brendon McCullum and Stokes have formed a fearsome duo as England's captain and coach combination of their red-ball side, winning 13 of 18 Tests since joining together.
A stark upturn in fortunes for England's previously flailing side in the longest format of cricket has been led by Stokes and McCullum's insistence to play a free-flowing, attacking style against the red ball.
A 2-2 series draw in the most recent Ashes series further served to grow Stokes' stature as a captain, and former England skipper Gower acknowledged he could not have predicted this development before.
"I think Ben Stokes has proven himself to be an extraordinary leader of a cricket team and men," Gower told Stats Perform.
"There is a lot about him that knowing him six or seven years ago, I just wouldn't have believed possible. But life has taught him all sorts of lessons.
"First of all, he has a great instinct for the game and a great instinct for pushing a game ahead to win. He loves winning and doesn't like losing, so will hurt for the ones they've lost, but hates drawing even more.
"That's an extraordinary attitude to have, because so many new captains, including his predecessor, Joe Root, would have taken a very different attitude to the possibility of a draw.
"He's created this culture along with McCullum, but he's got the instinct for the game."
Australia retained the Ashes after a 2-2 away series draw, having won the previous edition Down Under, after racing into a 2-0 lead in England with victories at Edgbaston and Lord's.
A first-innings declaration in the first Test at Edgbaston by Stokes, with Root on an unbeaten century and set to punish the toiling Australian bowlers, caused some questions.
Yet Gower refused to criticise Stokes for his decision to again try and push the red-ball outing towards a result.
He added: "The declaration at Edgbaston was derided by some and there's a fair case to argue there but was an interesting one, because [Stuart] Broad against [David] Warner was a tasty morsel at the start of an Ashes series.
"It could have laid down on marker but it didn't, but there you go, it's worth a go. But he has empathy for his players, he seems to understand his players.
"Good captains need to be on duty all the time. You've got decisions to make all the time. There will be mistakes, and there'll be ones you might revise with time to think about it, but you've got to go with your gut.
"Got to go with your instinct, and you've got to take people with you. And that is clearly evident with Stokes and McCullum, but Stokes as captain has taken that team with him all the way through."
While Stokes has largely been heralded for his influence as captain, Australian counterpart Pat Cummins came under scrutiny for a somewhat defensive plan to stem the flow of England's attacking output.
"You've got two very different teams, the makeup of the two teams is very, very different," Gower continued. "So Cummins' options were different.
"Cummins has one of the best attacks in the world at his disposal, and he is the leader of that attack. He also had a very good man, dare I say, in Steve Smith as his vice-captain.
"You need someone else besides you, who can advise and point things out and be in your ear to help you along.
"Both [captains] at various stages lead from the front. Stokes' 150 at Lord's was just awesome to watch. Cummins, at Birmingham with the bat, those crucial runs at the end.
"He saw it through, lead from the front himself."
Gower also suggested the different options at the captain's disposal somewhat dictated their respective plans.
"The difference is England have six or seven batsmen who can force the pace," he said. "So they were always going to play that way, trust their instincts and accept the mistakes that come along with taking risks.
"Australia are always going to have to play at a different pace to England. That's why the 2-2 result at the end proves that there are various ways to skin a cat, and you can win games by being good at what you do.
"Cummins and Stokes had different options. That's why in the end, I think it's so fascinating to see it all finish up with the series all square."
IPL: Yadav century ends Mumbai's losing streak in style
Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten century to lead Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Yadav hit a sensational 102 not out off 51 balls with six maximums as Mumbai successfully chased a target of 174 with 16 balls to spare, lifting them off the foot of the table.
Despite a slow start to the Indians' innings in which SRH took three wickets in the first five overs, Yadav’s introduction turned things around as he put on a partnership of 143 with Tilak Varma (37 not-out).
Sunrisers had started well, with Travis Head reeling off a quick 48, but Piyush Chawla (3-33) and Hardik Pandya (3-31) limited Hyderabad to 173-8, with Anshul Kamboj claiming his maiden IPL wicket by bowling out Mayank Agarwal.
Pat Cummins finished with a flurry, knocking 35 runs from 17 balls, and the Australia captain helped SRH put the Indians on the ropes when he dismissed Rohit Sharma in the fourth over.
Yet Mumbai would lose only one more wicket as Yadav inspired them to victory that snapped a four-match losing run.
Data Debrief: Yadav star of the show
This was Yadav's first IPL hundred of the season, with his knock including 18 boundaries (12 fours, six sixes), taking him up to 334 runs so far this campaign.
He is 16th in the overall rankings, and some 108 runs behind leader Virat Kohli.
Matthews among nominees for ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for April
West Indies Women’s Captain Hayley Matthews has been named among three nominees for the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April.
A past winner of the award and current holder of the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year, Matthews is another top-ranked performer to have grabbed headlines in April.
The 26-year-old skipper piled on the runs in her six outings for the West Indies, notching two brilliant ODI centuries followed by back-to-back half-centuries in the T20I contests against Pakistan.
Alongside her 451 runs in April, Matthews also flourished with the ball, taking 12 wickets; six in the ODI matches at an average of 14, and six more in the T20Is at 10.50.
Matthews’ competition for the award are South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu.
The South African opener is looking to claim her maiden Player of the Month award in what is her fourth nomination, and is a strong contender after another historic series of displays in April.
Wolvaardt started the month with a half-century in the final T20I contest against Sri Lanka before carrying her excellent form into the ODI series.
Her innings of 41 in the first match preceded an emphatic 110 not out in the second to claim a vital win, but the 25-year-old saved her best score for the last game, blasting a national record score of 184 in 147 balls only for South Africa to be outdone by the brilliance of Athapaththu.
Athapaththu, last year’s ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, continued her dominance in the 50-over format, reclaiming the top spot in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting rankings after a stellar showing in April.
Records tumbled for the Sri Lanka skipper, thanks to a sparkling unbeaten 195 in Potchefstroom against South Africa as the tourists won in a record run chase.
258 ODI runs was complemented by 148 runs in T20Is, which included two half-centuries in South Africa, plus another against Scotland in the ongoing Women’s T20WC Qualifier in Abu Dhabi, where Sri Lanka eventually sealed their qualification thanks to semi-final success on Sunday.
Knight Riders dispatch Super Giants to move top of IPL
Kolkata Knight Riders moved to the top of the Indian Premier League courtesy of a 98-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants.
Sunil Narine hit a sensational 81 from 39 balls, and he was ably supported by Ramandeep Singh's 25 from six deliveries, as KKR reeled off a third straight win on Sunday.
Ramandeep enjoyed a great day in the field too, as he took one of the catches of the season as LSG managed just 137 in response to KKR's 235.
Phil Salt struck 32, but it was fellow opener Narine who did the damage for KKR.
Ravi Bishnoi eventually ended his stand, but only when KKR had reached 140. Angkrish Raghuvanshi (32) had to be substituted out, but Shreyas Iyer added a useful 23 before Ramandeep hammered 25 from just an overs' worth of deliveries.
KL Rahul (25) and Marcus Stoinis (36) tried to get Lucknow going either side of Ramandeep's spectacular catch to dismiss Arshin Kulkarni, but the Super Giants never set the pace to truly trouble Kolkata.
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