The Daily Telegraph - 27.08.2019

Ben won the game

you know when a No 11 walks out

and 73 are still needed that there is

not much chance of winning.

You know Australia are just one

ball, one catch or run-out away

from retaining the Ashes. But then

Ben started hitting those big sixes,

switch-hitting the spinner and

flicking the quicks down to third

man for six. That is down to long

periods in the nets and hard work.

He has put so many hours in the

nets, so he knows when he can

execute those unorthodox shots

with a clear head under pressure.

The dressing room was very

calm. In those situations people get

superstitious. If anyone moves you

shout at them to sit down and stay

in the same seat. Nobody wants to

put a curse on what is happening

in the middle. A few of the lads

could not watch. They were in the

dark of the dressing room with the

television on instead.

I knew Jack Leach could block a

few balls because he has a good

technique. He is also calm, a tough

cricketer, but he was facing some

of the finest bowlers in the world.

When Ben won the game there

was pandemonium in our

changing room. It was an

outpouring of euphoria and relief.

Afterwards Ben himself was quiet.

He was in disbelief about what he

had done. I think he was just

exhausted by it all. He just sat in a

corner with his cap on and had a

moment by himself. You could tell

he was still in the zone because he

went out for the post-match

presentation and interviews still

wearing his pads.

We stayed at the ground until

about 9pm, but it was different to

when we won the World Cup. Then

we were celebrating an

achievement, lifting a trophy.

This time it was about

recognising we had been part of

something very special. We played

in a game that will live forever in

the memory. After a while we went

out to the middle, sat in a circle as a

team on the pitch. Joe Root and

Trevor Bayliss spoke to the group.

They just told us to sit together,

appreciate and understand how

special something like that was.

We had to take a step back to be

able to understand what we had

been a part of. Joe told us to “enjoy

this moment” and that “we had

done something incredible”.

Stokes' astonishing

135 not out was the

perfect blend of

styles. On Saturday

evening he defended

resolutely, as shown

by the almost

complete absence of

attacking shots,

before upping the

pace somewhat on

Sunday morning and

finally taking the

game away from

Australia in an

incredible display of

hitting after lunch.

Stokes

celebrates

scoring the

winning runs

at Headingley

on Sunday

...and how it helped him play the ultimate innings

Day four, second session

The Twenty20 innings

Day four, first session

The One-Day innings

Day three, third session

The Test innings

Balls attacked

Balls attacked

Balls attacked

Stokes' astonishing

135 not out was the

perfect blend of

styles. On Saturday

evening he defended

resolutely, as shown

by the almost

complete absence of

attacking shots,

before upping the

pace somewhat on

Sunday morning and

finally taking the

game away from

Australia in an

incredible display of

hitting after lunch.

Stokes

celebrates

scoring the

winning runs

at Headingley

on Sunday

...and how it he

D

T

D

Th

Da

Th

less a buccaneering all-rounder

than simply a Test batsman of high

quality. A Test match No 5, the

position Stokes was promoted to

midway through the Lord’s Test.

Two Ashes centuries in three

innings have followed. Stokes has

played 18 innings in the top five.

His record in the top five is now

markedly better than outside – an

average of 44, compared with 34.

But perhaps most instructive is

that Stokes’s strike rate of 51

batting in the top five is 10 fewer

than when he bats below.

Steadfast defence, the most

underrated facet of his game,

allows Stokes to absorb pressure

when the situation demands,

because he can trust in his

technique. Since returning to the

side, Stokes is dismissed only every

86 balls he defends, compared to

Joe Root’s 61. He has left 27 per

cent of deliveries from pace

bowlers alone – significantly more

than the global average of 22 per

cent – compared with 19 per cent

from 2015-17.

After the unreliable first

iteration from 2013-14, and the

swashbuckler from 2015-17, this is

Stokes the Test batsman 3.0. A

batsman who can still obliterate

the world’s best bowlers, but who

is much more selective about when

to do so. It has long been thought

that Stokes is a natural No 6, but

this risks downplaying the

smartness of his batting.

Compared to the last two great

English all-rounders, Ian Botham

and Andrew Flintoff, Stokes is a

marginally less effective bowler,

but has the game to be a far more

consistent batsman. His defence

and judgment, indeed, suggest that

he could succeed batting in the top

four, were it not for England

needing his bowling too. England

should be careful that he is not

over-bowled, diminishing his

effectiveness with the bat.

Perhaps England can resolve one

issue for good. For Stokes, No 5 –

from where he can respond to the

situation – looks perfect.

He was in disbelief

about what he had

done. He just sat in

a corner and had a

moment by himself

By Geoff Cook

FORMER DURHAM DIRECTOR OF

CRICKET

I

t did not take a genius to spot a

player with Ben’s natural talent

and as soon as he played in our

academy teams and the second XIs

• and he came to us at the age of 15


• the thing that stood out was that
  whenever there was a spicy
  moment in the game, Ben would
  push himself to take the game by
  the scruff of the neck.
  What we saw at Durham, when
  he was a teenager, the rest of the
  country is seeing now. He has
  always been the man for the big
  moments.
  Even when he was a kid, if a
  match was in the balance, it was
  Ben who stepped forward. It was
  mainly with the bat then. His
  bowling came later as he
  developed physically. I have always
  thought of him as a batsman who
  can bowl. When Ben got the
  chance to bowl – and we had some
  pretty impressive firepower in our
  attack – Ben was not fazed by it.
  He has worked incredibly hard
  on his bowling and that is what
  people do not see. He has always
  been willing to put the work in,
  physically, technically, he has
  worked so hard to improve every
  area of his game, which is why he
  has made the most of his talent.

There have been some tricky

times, but he had this great zest for

life. He wanted to get the most out

of every situation and, yes, there

were times when he had to be

disciplined. You have to get these

things out of your system, really.

When he came into the first team,

we had just won the County

Championship in 2010 and the

senior players, particularly the

captain Dale Benkenstein, saw him

play in a couple of practice games

and said “we have to get this kid in

the team”. We had a good team, a

settled team, but we had a wider

responsibility to get Ben into the

side. A responsibility to him and a

responsibility to English cricket.

Dale said that and even moved

up to bat at five so Ben could ease

his way in at six. I can remember

him getting caught on the

boundary on 99 playing against

Hampshire, but I have never

known a player like him for

clearing the boundary. And he has

been incredibly loyal to Durham

and determined to give something

back. That is a measure of the man.

By Graham Onions

FORMER DURHAM TEAM-MATE

I

have played with incredibly

talented players, but none have

worked as hard as Ben, and the

best way I can describe him is: he

is a winner. He just wants to win all

the time and that motivates him in

everything he does.

When he first came into the

dressing room at Durham, we

knew he was extremely talented,

and he was not shy.

There were incidents when he

was a little arrogant, he thought he

had made it before he had. But he

was very young and he did do a few

things that upset people, I suppose.

In those younger days, he was

battling against other players for a

place in the team, for contracts at

county level; he probably wanted it

so badly, he did some things that

were unprofessional, really.

He was pretty naive back then,

he had this ability, but you did not

know if he was going to fulfil his

potential. If you look at him now

and how he has grown, he is very

much the humble superstar. The

first thing he said after winning the

Headingley Test match on Sunday

was how good Jack Leach had

been.

It comes down to his mum and

dad. You are born with it to an

extent, but his dad played elite-

level rugby, he had that drive to

succeed. When that is mixed in

with some freakishly good talent,

you have the ingredients for a

superstar.

He is very much a product of the

North East, OK Cumbria, but he

came through at Durham and if

you look at all the players who have

come from the North East, we have

all had that desperation to play and

that desperation to do well, to win.

He has always wanted to come

back and play for Durham and

remember, he would walk into any

team in the world, but he loves

Durham because it was bled into

him at a young age by Geoff Cook

and all the coaches at Durham.

We all have that mentality from

the North East, we all have that

desire and that has helped make

Ben the player he is today.

Geoff Cook and Graham Onions

were talking to Luke Edwards

Even at 15, he took games

by the scruff of the neck

He wanted to succeed so

badly, he upset a few people

MAKING OF A MASTER

If a match was in

the balance, it was

always Ben who

stepped forward

He was arrogant at

times, he thought

he had made it

before he had

The Daily Telegraph Tuesday 27 August 2019 *** 7

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