B
en Stokes hates the
word “redemption”.
After this performance
he should never have
to hear it again, for
Stokes should only be
known now for his incredible
cricketing feats.
Forget Bristol. Forget court
cases and grainy CCTV images.
Just glory in the fact England have
a cricketer of such ferocious talent
and mental fortitude.
Stokes just knows how to win,
how to deliver under the utmost
pressure and scrutiny in both
one-day and Test cricket. His final
numbers when he retires may notmatch others. Ian Botham and
Andrew Flintoff were better
bowlers, but no other all-rounder
has delivered two match-winning
displays in games of such high
importance before.
Stokes led England to their first
World Cup with the most nerveless
batting when the game was lost in
the final and he did it again at
Headingley, saving the Ashes
against one of the best Australian
attacks to tour this country.
The day after the World Cup
final Stokes was told he was now a
national hero and his life had
changed. “Whatever, I’m not
bothered. I’ve got this medal
around my neck so it’s all good,” he
said. The material trappings of
winning and fame really mean
nothing to Stokes, who was given a
£15,000 watch by the sponsors for
being man of the match in the final
and left it in the dressing room.
At Headingley he completely
ignored the loud ovation for his
fifty. While his hundred was
greeted with big cheers, he simply
put his head down and marked his
guard. It must be the first time aplayer has not celebrated a Test
century, not even a flicker. It was
not rudeness, just that personal
milestones were irrelevant. A Test
match was there to be won.
The release came at the moment
of victory, a cut for four through
the covers brought a guttural roar
and one-handed punch of the air.
“Unbelievable, unbelievable” he
said as his team-mates surrounded
him on the pitch a few moments
later. He even forgot to grab a
stump as a souvenir. Luckily a
television technician saved one
for him.
While many of England’s World
Cup winners have looked frazzled
and struggled to cope with the
Ashes heat, Stokes has revelled in
the challenge of facing Australia,
knowing his team were beaten up
4-0 the last time they played when
he could not travel because of his
Bristol arrest. The World Cup final
went a long way to paying that
debt, but Test cricket is something
else. Was there enough left in the
tank for five Ashes Tests?
At Lord’s last week he scored his
first Test hundred for two yearsand has been named man of the
match in consecutive Tests.
He played an awful shot on
Friday as England were routed for
67 in 27.5 overs. He knew he had let
his team down. That is when he is
at his most dangerous. He bowled
an unbroken spell of 24 overs in
the Australia second innings, split
across two days, dragging them
back in the game with three for 56.
He then batted 52 more balls in
his century than England managed
in their entire first innings.
But it was the control and
complete mastery of the chase that
will be forever remembered. Thephases of his innings show his
utter application for staying in the
present and focusing on taking his
team over the line.
He was one off 39 balls, two off
50 overnight. He was seven off 80
as he blocked the threat of the
second new ball.
It took him 83 balls to reach
double figures, the slowest since
Ian Salisbury for England in
Calcutta 26 years ago. One of the
world’s biggest Twenty20 hitters
and the most highly paid overseas
player in the Indian Premier
League was dealing in dot balls.
This was Stokes’s slowest TestCannot watch:
Ben Stokes looks
down at the
ground as Jack
Leach faces fast
bowler Pat
Cummins, but he
was full of praise
for the England
tail-ender’s
bravery at the
deathMasterclass in how to take your team
Nick Hoult
CRICKET NEWS
CORRESPONDENT
at Headingley16% 16 %
030609012015076
runsThe miracle innings
How his scoring rate increased
The miracle 10th-wicket
partnership
Stokes ball by ball after the fall of
ninth wicket4 4 4 46 6 6 6 6 6 61
wide1Leach
1 off 17 ballsStokes
74 off 45 balls
4 fours
7 sixesScoring rate Runs
Scoring rate progression
0 balls 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 2200 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 60 0 0 6 1 0 1 2 0 6 2 14 6 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 44 1 0 0 6 0 0 0 4Day 4, Session 2
Attacking shots
44%
6.18
rpoRuns
Balls103
100Day 4, Session 1
Attacking shots
2.6
rpoRuns
Balls30
69Day 3 , Session 3
Attacking shots
4%
0.24
runs per overRuns
Balls2
50Neck guard flies off after he
is hit on the visor by a bouncerReverse sweep
cleared the
ropes for six135
runs219
balls330
minutes8
sixes11
foursRuns Highest 10th wicket partnership in the
fourth innings to win a first-class matchKey stats
76
unspartnership
tokes ball by ball after the fall of
nth wicket4 4 4 46 6 6 6 6 6 61
wide1Leach
1 off 17 ballstokes
4 off 45 balls
fours
sixes0 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 60 0 0 6 1 0 1 2 0 6 2 14 6 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 44 1 0 0 6 0 0 0 478
* K Perera & V Fernando
Sri Lanka v South Africa
Durban 201977
*
T Leather & R Oxenham
Australia v India
Madras 1936102
S Jayasuriya &
D Fernando (1)
Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Faisalabad 200476
*
B Stokes & J Leach (1*)
England v Australia
Leeds yesterday76
* B Stokes & J Leach
England v Australia
Leeds yesterdayHighest Test partnership with a batsman
scoring one or lessStokes deserves all the
rewards after producing
another heroic and
nerveless innings
4 ** Monday 26 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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