Ben Stokes finds ways to be a thorn in India’s flesh

As batter, bowler as well as fielder, the England captain is relentless in his pursuit to make a difference

Kolkata: Skill, guts and those small hunches, Ben Stokes’ cricket philosophy is largely institutional and a bit emotional. Underpinning all that is an unbending commitment and dogged focus to toil away relentlessly when nothing seems to give way.

England's Ben Stokes was awarded player of the match for his performance in the third Test against India at Lord’s. (Reuters)

Being an allrounder now isn’t easy, but Stokes has a way of standing apart with his grit. His returns at Lord’s? 44 and 33, 2/63 in the first innings and 3/48 in the second. Not exactly sensational. Now think of the Rishabh Pant run out in the first innings. And the way he was in India’s face throughout the fifth day on a dead Lord’s pitch, getting the ball to seam in, making life hell every ball as a bowler, captain and instigator.

The venue probably matters as well. Like in 2019 at Headingley, where he single-handedly carved one of Test cricket’s finest victories. Or Lord’s, where no one has won more Player-of-the-Match awards in Tests than Stokes. Then there is the greatest ODI of 2019, the World Cup final that will always be remembered for ‘the barest of margin’ result, all because the thrown ball from deep took a ricochet off the bat of a diving Stokes and went to the boundary.

That was exactly six years ago to this day, when Jofra Archer had also bowled the Super Over. So, Stokes thought why not start the final day with him. Archer responded by dismissing Rishabh Pant, sending his off-stump tumbling with a jaffa.

“It was a big part of the game. Rishabh played really well, we all know how dangerous he can be and that wicket this morning was a big one and Jofra was the man to do it,” said Stokes.

Four overs later, Archer took 0.8 second to fling to his right and catch Washington Sundar off his own bowling. “Part of the reason I went with Jof this morning, six years ago now to that day. He played a major role and I had a feeling he’d do something special and crack the game open,” said Stokes. “Brydon (Carse) had an amazing spell, but I had a gut feeling that Jof’s going to do something in his first game back. Every time he’s announced, the ground erupts and when the speeds go up on the screen, the feeling changes.”

To bowl seven-over spells is one thing, but Stokes stretched himself to the limit by bowling nine, 10-overs spells on Monday.

“What today was and what was on the line, yesterday was a bit different as there was more cricket to be played, I pulled myself out there,” he said. “To be honest, I was cooked yesterday as well, but the game was on the line and nothing was stopping me. I am an allrounder, I get four opportunities to influence the game, one of the great things of being an allrounder is if one thing doesn’t quite click then you have the other.”

India, as a result of this persistence from Stokes, were almost stopped in their tracks. The extended second session yielded just 1.67 runs per over though Archer wasn’t given the ball for 24 overs. With the morning session too yielding just 2.47 rpo, India were forced by Stokes to earn every run.

“I’ve taken myself to some pretty dark places, but if bowling your country to a Test match win doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what does,” Stokes said about his effort.

What the scoreboard will never tell you though is how Stokes had an indelible effect on the Test as a fielder, running out Pant in the first innings when he had added 141 for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul.

“I had bowled an important spell, I was pretty pumped up, it was a very important position at extra cover, it was one of those things,” said Stokes. “I saw Rishabh stutter in my peripheral, natural instincts took over and it is a great feeling when you let go of the ball and know that it is going towards the stumps.”

Sounds like an allround match-winning performance alright.