Stress-free Stokes rediscovers his groove for batting
It was a celebration dripping in relief.
The clenched fist as Ben Stokes crossed for a single he did not need, as the ball scuttled to the fine leg boundary. The smile – when was the last time he smiled for a century, by the way? Or saluted all four corners of the ground?
The look up to the heavens, where he aimed the four-finger salute in honour of his late father – folding down his left middle finger, referencing the digit Ged Stokes amputated to prolong his rugby league career – was longer, and full of feeling. Stokes sighed, as if being embraced from above. There was one last look upstairs, and one last word to his old man, before putting back on his helmet to resume an innings that eventually reached 141.
Ged used to be his son’s harshest critic, particularly when it came to batting, as far back as his Merivale Papanui Cricket Club days growing up in Christchurch. He would have been buoyed to see his son break a two-year duck for that 14th Test century, and proud as he became only the fifth player – and first Englishman – to register a hundred and five-wicket haul as captain in the same match.
As much as the relief and emotion attached to the landmark made perfect sense, it was not something we have seen from Stokes since becoming captain. Batting, in this time, played second fiddle to leadership during his early years in the job. Now, having rediscovered his zeal with the ball in this series – day four of this fourth Test being an exception to the rule – it sits third.
This moment to indulge, to enjoy a little personal glory, was made possible by the fact that Stokes’ holistic duties with the bat has reached its desired conclusion.
For the most part, it has been about setting agendas rather than just scoring runs. In the early days, it was about getting them to park fear and push their limits, which he led by striking at 78.74 (at times recklessly) across his first 10 Tests as captain in 2022. His last century in 2023, dipping into his box marked “miracle knocks” and pulling out a hellacious 155 at Lord’s against Australia. While in vain, it snapped his teammates to wise up and win two of the next three Tests to tie the series.
Whisper it, but there was a hint of doing it for himself here. Batting is selfish pursuit marketed as selfless, and Stokes’ shedding of a couple of layers was a welcome sight. And it was encouraged by what had happened around him.
At 157.1 overs, this was the longest batting innings of the Bazball era, for 669, now England’s fifth highest total in Test cricket. They skipped along at 4.25 an over, but with a more mature slant on their previously cavalier ways.
There were 123.2 overs between England’s first six – Zak Crawley skipping down to Ravindra Jadeja – and the second, when Stokes cut loose after reaching three figures, carving Washington Sundar over his in the 149th.
There has been a lot of self-correction over the years. Even in the last week, batters made productive use of the seven-day gap between the end of the match Lord’s and Monday, when they reported for the first training session ahead of the fourth Test.
On Sunday, Ollie Pope netted alone at the Oval, with a self-feeding bowling machine and a desire to find the rhythm he had lost after starting the series with a century at Headingley. A first fifty-plus score in 34 days duly came with 71 in the first innings.
Crawley went away and did similar. Those privy to his work behind the scenes say they have never seen anyone hit as many balls as he has this summer. But he arrived in Manchester with a clearer head after a mental fix to stop pre-meditating deliveries which resulted in a tidy 84. His fellow opener Ben Duckett, who self-deprecatingly felt his first Test exploits of 62 and 149 would be followed by a miserly run – a duck followed, then 60 in the next three innings – took back is narrative with 94.
Even Harry Brook, despite scoring just three – the only member of the top six to not make it past 70 – had identified the need to get out of a funk that was exacerbated by his failed scoop of Akash Deep in the first innings at Lord’s. A mild dressing down from batting coach Marcus Trescothick – disguised as a pep talk – led to an intense couple of days training in Manchester. The fruits of that could be seen in the fifth Test at the Oval. Nevertheless, Brook is still averaging 45.28 from seven innings.
Stokes, of course, is no stranger to the grind, and, having got his bowling in the day before the Test after Monday’s session was rained off, followed that with a long batting stint. The pride of being a functioning allrounder has meant he has been acutely aware his batting has been on the wane. Questions on that dip have been treated with great disdain over the last few weeks.
Heading into the second Test at Edgbaston, his batting average had dipped to 35.12, the lowest it has been in six years. Now it has jumped to 35.69.
“There’s various things that everybody is working upon,” said Trescothick of the batters. “And it’s like, when you get in those moments and you see success, then great.
“Ben is no different to that just because obviously the length of time that they’ve played him and Joe (Root) or the senior guys. And it’s good to see him performing back, you know, to where he wants to be.”
In many ways, Stokes’ century was the last piece of a puzzle that will never truly be finished. The last member of the top seven to register three figures this summer, where only Root has found any peace.
That Stokes did not bowl at all in India’s reply, despite being the standout bowler in the series, highlighted the problem with pinning so much on one man. And though no one can match his tactical acumen on the field, or his effectiveness with the ball, there are others in the batting line up, beyond Root, who are pulling their weight.
That this was Stokes’ slowest of his three centuries as captain suggests he might finally settle into an actual role. One that is more than just pumping up those around him.