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."
Man City could face 'serious' punishment, says expert Maguire
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, that it should be reflected in their punishment.
The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.
If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.
City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, with the breaches allegedly going back over a decade.
The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.
City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.
The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.
City did, however, claim a victory in their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be fair in comparison to what was handed to both Everton and Forest.
"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.
"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.
"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.
City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever.
Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.
"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.
"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.
"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."
England's second Test 'in the balance' after day one, says Potts
Matthew Potts thinks England's second Test against Pakistan is "in the balance" after day one saw the hosts reach stumps on 259-5.
Kamran Ghulam was the star for Pakistan on his debut, with his sublime knock of 118 pushing them to their tally.
Jack Leach had taken two early wickets, finishing the day on 2-92, while Potts and Brydon Carse also got in on the action before Shoaib Bashir removed Ghulam late on.
Playing on the same pitch as the first Test, England's spinners struggled to make an impact compared to the seamers.
But Potts, playing for the first time since the Sri Lanka series in August after replacing Gus Atkison, remained upbeat about England's performance.
"We created a lot of chances over the course of the day. The boys stuck at it, and we are pleased where we are with it now," Potts told BBC Test Match Special.
"You don't tell a score until both sides have batted on it. It appeared to be flatter than we expected. The game is in the balance, a couple of early ones in the morning, and we will see what it is.
"I think it did spin; slow spin kept a bit low. The lads stuck to the basics really well in some strong heat today. A couple of early wickets in the morning and hopefully we can run through them."
Phil Simmons appointed as interim head coach of Bangladesh
Former West Indies all-rounder Phil Simmons has been appointed as interim coach of Bangladesh until the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
The 61-year-old is replacing Chandika Hathurusinghe, who has been suspended by the Bangladesh Cricket Board on disciplinary grounds.
Hathurusinghe has been suspended for 48 hours and is to be "terminated immediately" after that period and has also been served a show-cause notice by the board.
"Hathurusinghe has two counts of misconduct," BCB president Faruque Ahmed said.
"First is about an assault on a player. Secondly, he took too many leaves, more than what was in his contract."
This will be Simmons’ fifth international coaching job including stints as West Indies men’s head coach from 2015-2016 and 2019-2022.
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