2nd exam: v Australia, Perth, 2013
18 & 120, 1-63 &2-82 (Australia won by 150 points)
You don’t necessarily have to win to show that you’re a winner. England’s devastating 5-0 defeat in Australia shattered one of their best teams, but there was one burning positive. It was Ben Stokes’ debut series. While most of his elders were having their spirits crushed, Stokes, with his fiery hair and uncharacteristically exuberant energy, stepped into Test cricket’s hottest kitchen and quickly became involved in some more. I lit the stove. At first Australia ridiculed him, thinking it was just a pom being slaughtered. Stokes spoke of many of his accomplishments with an asterisk, finishing the game with a classic four-inning 100 hit at Waca. Stokes hit a textbook straight drive, drawing away from bogeyman Mitchell Johnson with effortless authority and briefly giving England hope that they could chase their target of 504 points. Although they failed to do so, Stokes secured something even rarer than an England Ashes victory. Only one person has ever worn baggy green.
10th Test: vs New Zealand at Lord’s 2015
92 & 101, 0-105 & 3-38 (England won by 124 points)
Many years before the word buzzball existed, Stokes’ valiant game marked the “Test of God” in which England overcame a huge deficit to defeat a New Zealand team. It was revealed for the first time that he was the winner. A brisk 92 runs on the first day saw England recover from 30 for 4 to reach 389. There was still a 134-run difference in the first innings, but Stokes’ surging 85-ball century was the fastest at Lord’s and the first of many JFK moments during the Test. Career – The atmosphere of the game and the public’s attitude towards a team that has spent much of the past two years in the doghouse has changed. On a strong final day, Stokes dismissed Kane Williamson, who was most likely to save the match, and Brendon McCullum, who was most likely to win, on back-to-back deliveries. It wouldn’t be the last time he grabbed both the moment and the game.
55th Test: v Australia, Headingley, 2019
8 & 135*, 1-45 & 3-56 (England won by 1 wicket)
Nietzsche would have liked Ben Stokes. He has always found strength and growth in adversity. The Bristol case has made him a wiser and slightly more weary man. The death of his father Ged gave Stokes a perspective and a professional mindset that could make him a millionaire if he could bottle it. And Carlos Brathwaite’s 46 in the 2016 World T20 final did not define Stokes, it shaped him. Since then, he has hardly bowled at the death, not with the ball and not as a batsman. The experience taught Stokes that if you delve deep enough into the game, the unthinkable can happen. He soon realized that the nerve-wracking finish stirred something within him. It is a defiant feat that surpasses that of his fellow immortals, let alone mere mortals. Six weeks after his once-in-a-lifetime miracle in the 2019 World Cup final, Stokes produced another miracle to keep the Ashes alive at Headingley. There has never been an innings so exciting in Test history. Stokes scored 3 runs off the first 73 balls, 58 runs off the next 104 balls and 74 runs off the last 42 balls, including 7 enthusiastic and clear sixes, with Jack Leach There was a 76-ball partnership that sparked a bromance. Stokes carried it in a spell of 24.2 overs before walking on water, which was broken only by Jofra Archer’s four deliveries. Stokes’ marathon was born out of self-deprecation. Perhaps a bit of martyrdom, and almost certainly a lot of self-deprecation after his poor first-inning shot. Stokes took 3 for 56, making England’s goal of victory nearly impossible, if not completely impossible.
61st Test: v South Africa, Cape Town, 2020
47 & 72, 0-34 & 3-35 (England won by 189 points)
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Judging Stokes by statistics is as wrong as trying to quantify love. In the 2020 Cape Town Test, he was the third-highest run-scorer and fourth-highest wicket-taker. He was also the undisputed player of the match. There have been many great performances in the past, such as the computer game match 258 played at the same ground in 2016, but what was the point in that match when England ended in a draw? Is it? Four years later, Stokes’ selfless 72 off 47 balls made a statement while Dom Sibley was able to reach his maiden Test century without leaving his comfort zone. The next day, in the final hour of the match, Stokes scored the final three wickets to even the series. Stokes lives in the final act when everything is on the line and it is hard to believe that an England player has won so many matches when time, runs and wickets were running out. There’s one stat about Stokes about him that I think is relevant. In his first innings, which won his England Test, he averaged 39 with the bat and 30 with the ball, but not much better than his career records. His batting averages through two innings were 48 and 21 RBI. It may not be a love affair for England fans, but it speaks to some of his fondest memories.
87th Test: v Pakistan, Rawalpindi, 2022
41 & 0, 0-35 & 1-69 (England won by 74 points)
Stokes should have been player of the match in this match as well, and he disrupted everything with bat or ball. England’s stunning stoppage-time victory, on a pitch so flat that it could have resulted in a draw in a timeless Test, was the ultimate demonstration of Stokes’ tactical genius and relentless positivity. Nasser Hussain said it was the best five days as a captain he had ever seen. The game had 1,768 runs, a record for positive tests. Virus-stricken England scored an impressive 506 runs in just 75 overs on the first day. It was a metaphorical buzzball on steroids. On the field, Stokes trusted every instinct and rejected every norm. His wicket-taking strategies included an umbrella field, preferring leg slip to orthodox and denying new balls. He didn’t allow the game to flow or give his brain a break for one delivery. Jack Leach, a naturally cautious spinner, blossomed as a wicket-taker under Stokes – England had eight players and a wicketkeeper surrounding their bats by the time they won the match with just minutes remaining. .
