ALREADY compared to Ian Botham, England all-rounder Ben Stokes is now emulating an even bigger legend of the game – Sir Donald Bradman.

Stokes is the toast of English cricket after leading his side to a thrilling 22-run win in the first Test to Bangladesh.

He almost single-handedly dragged England over the line, taking the last two wickets and finishing the match with six scalps and 103 runs in a superb all round performance.

Stokes earned praise for how he has progressed with the bat against quality spin on turning subcontinent pitches, and now one of the reasons behind his improvement has been revealed.

“The secret of Ben Stokes’ new-found skill against spin bowling can be revealed: he is batting with a STUMP,” John Etheridge wrote in The Sun.

“Stokes often uses a cricket stump in the nets while facing slow bowlers as he learns the art of scoring on turning pitches.”

Etheridge points out that making direct comparisons with Bradman are foolhardy but it’s difficult to avoid the similarities in the pair’s training techniques.

Bradman famously spent hours on end as a child in the NSW town of Bowral practising his cricket by using a stump to hit a golf ball against a water tank.

“It would be ridiculous to compare Stokes to Bradman, but if the Durham all-rounder can middle the ball with a one-and-a-half-inch diameter piece of wood, then using a four-and-a-quarter-inch bat should be a doddle,” Etheridge wrote.

The Bradman comparisons may not last but the similarities with Botham’s career are coming thick and fast for Stokes.

The latest come courtesy of his effort in Chittagong, where Stokes became the first England player since Botham to score 100 runs and take five wickets in the same Test in Asia. Botham did so against India in 1980.

The superb performance led to some rare gushing praise from usually-reserved England coach Trevor Bayliss.

“The potential of the guy, he could be right up there with some of the all-time best all-rounders,” Bayliss said. “Only time will tell. Certainly the strides he’s made on the subcontinent playing spin has been top class.

“I think it’s his defence to spin that he’s improved out of sight.”

The plaudits continued in the Daily Mail, where former England captain Nasser Hussain – who played with England’s other legendary modern all-rounder Andrew Flintoff – praised Stokes for the amount of work he’s put in since announcing himself to the world on Test debut in Australia in 2013.

“There are cricketers who can turn a game in a session — Stokes is one of them,” Hussain wrote.

“He will have quiet days and quiet series, and people will wonder what the fuss is about, but then all of a sudden he will have games like this when he is as influential as any cricketer in the world.

“Stokes is an incredibly talented young man but he works bloody hard as well and never settles for smashing a hundred or taking wickets when conditions are in his favour.

“He has asked himself, ‘How do I need to improve?’ and he has put in the hard yards to make sure he has done just that.

“There are no limits on what he can achieve, but the key will be keeping fit.”

In the Telegraph, Stokes was labelled as England’s x-factor.

“He has produced breathtaking cricket for England before in his short Test career but this is the first time he has combined both bat and ball with such devastating results.

“To take six for 46 in a Test where only three other wickets fell to seam speaks volumes for his willingness to flog himself on a spinner’s pitch. His four for 26 in the first innings, often bowling in the sweltering high heat of the day, tipped the game England’s way as it delivered the slender lead they needed for victory.

“To score 103 runs across two innings, just five fewer than the total made by the top four in the entire match, has shown Stokes can be dangerous on Asian pitches after adding a sound defence and better shot selection to his game.

“England will rotate their players across the seven Tests this winter but it will be a brave man to tell Stokes he is not playing. ‘No I will play all seven, if I still get picked,’ he insisted.”