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Stokes, like Phelps, embodies belief, never-say-die spirit
Whether Ben Stokes’ 135 not out is the best ever in the fourth innings to win in Test history has been the looming debate in cricket circles since that heady climax
“I won’t predict anything historic. But nothing is impossible.”
—Michael Phelps
It’s been a few days since England won the third Test to draw level in the Ashes series, and the cricket world is still reeling from the enormity of Ben Stokes’s performance.
Stokes’s incredible century reduced the Australians to zombies, unsure what hit them. Given the huge psychological damage it will have undoubtedly caused, it may have also tilted the balance in the series away from them.
But that’s in the future. Let’s rewind to Leeds where England were bowled out for 67 in the first innings. In what was a low-scoring match for three innings, with the pitch offering enough help to fast bowlers, Root and Co then had to score 359 to win in the fourth. If the hardship quotient of doing this was not enormous already, England’s top order stuttered and sputtered again. At 286/9, with 73 runs still needed, all escape routes looked sealed and an Australian victory imminent.
And then….
How Stokes turned the tables on Australia with a highly skilful and nuanced innings (not to forget his 25 testing overs in the second innings), traversing many hills and dales in the process, hardly needs retelling.
One aspect that merits reiteration, however, is that England’s last wicket pair put on 76 runs of which No. 11 Jack Leach scored one. To highlight what this means, let me lean on a tennis analogy. Imagine a player 0-5 and 0-40 down in the final set with his opponent serving for point and match. To turn things around and clinch the contest from that precarious situation is nothing short of miraculous.
Stokes’s ability and mental strength in this excruciating final phase (with Leach showing admirable pluck, of course!) to farm the bowling adroitly as well as counterattack brilliantly to keep the run chase alive was beyond belief. Whether his 135 not out is the best ever in the fourth innings to win in Test history has been the looming debate in cricket circles since that heady climax.
More than facts, statistics and result, what I’ve been trying to wrap my head around is what inspires such amazing performances in sport. A rational explanation, I’ll confess, proves elusive. However, I found a lead in the quote at the start of this article from Phelps, arguably the greatest Olympian, when he made a comeback to competitive swimming, having gone through depression and what not.
On the face of it, Phelps may seem playing to the gallery or being supercilious. Yet it is insightful in understanding the mindset that makes bewildering performances, as we saw from Stokes at Leeds, possible.
What Phelps does not spell out in this quote, but is at its core, is how crucial self-belief, mental toughness and unremitting optimism are to succeed at sport. Talent and skill are important, but without a never-say-die approach, such deeds would be impossible.
The parallel that acquires pertinence when discussing Stokes with Phelps is both had slumped from the crest to nadir, the swimmer even more dramatically. This could have destroyed career and persona, but both emerged from the depths remarkably.
In the 2016 T20 World Championship it might be recalled, Stokes was hit for four sixes by Carlos Braithwaite in the last over of the final which England lost. A year later, he was involved in an assault case and his future—cricket or otherwise—was hanging by a thread. A fine talent seemed doomed for early demise. This has been a stellar year for Stokes as he has turned things around quite melodramatically. He was instrumental in England winning the suspense-filled World Cup final and a few weeks later, came up with this stunning performance at Leeds, in texture and tenor perhaps an even greater performance.
England may or may not win the Ashes, Stokes may or may not become the most important player of his generation as anticipated when he started out. But it is unlikely anybody will compose a more stirring redemption song in cricket.
The writer is a senior sports analyst and views are personal
