Patience has been key in Ben Stokes's rise to 'Best cricketer in the world'
At Stumps on day 2, 'England Cricket', the official Twitter handle of the England cricket team, shared a highlight of Ben Stokes's 176-run knock. They captioned it ' Best cricketer in the world'. And you wouldn't doubt the string of messages of cricket fans from the east, who ridiculed the caption with Virat Kohli claims, while there were few mentions of Steve Smith as well.
Did 'England Cricket' go a little too far? Arguably, maybe, given that he was earlier this year named by Wisden as the Cricketer of the Year (2019). Maybe they could have been a little creative in making their statement. But Stokes's recent numbers in Test cricket have been hard to overlook, especially those with the bat which has put him amongst the best from this era.
The key reason behind Stokes's rise in Test cricket has been due to his acceptance of being patient. In the first 20 Tests of his career, Stokes averaged well below 30 with a strike rate of above 60, scoring two centuries during this period while facing an average of 45 deliveries per innings. In the last 16 Tests of his career, Stokes averages almost 47 with a strike rate of 55.01, scoring as many as 4 centuries and almost 85 deliveries on an average in an innings and also remaining unbeaten in an innings on three occasions. And Friday's knock stands as an epitome in showing Stokes's rise from a hard-hitting explosive batsman to a world-class batsman. It took him 255 deliveries on Friday to bring up his triple-figure mark - the longest of his 18 first-class centuries. (Also Read | Ben Stokes is a freak, nothing he cannot do: Michael Vaughan)
Although Stokes only referred to his knock as different, both he and Dominic Sibley, the other half of that marathon partnership and who scored an even slower century taking 312 balls to reach the mark, opined that Windies's disciplined bowling urged them to stay patient.
"I made a real conscious effort to be as clinical as I possibly could," said Stokes said on Sky Sports when rain had derailed the start of day 3 in Manchester, "especially around that sort of fourth- and fifth-stump line that Jason and Kemar [Roach] are fantastic at doing.
"It was about understanding what we had to do at different times throughout the game," he said. "I had to be really disciplined in leaving the ball because I know by now that teams will hang the ball wide and test my patience. So I was playing the game with them as long as I could, and waiting to be able to capitalise on anything."
However, Stokes's next 76 runs came in 103 balls, showing that he has the ability to shift gears when required. Nevertheless, it was his highest knock on home soil, but second-highest in his career after his 258 against South Africa back in 2016.
Ben Stokes
One of the key changes in tactics that Stokes adopted for the Manchester Test was not getting lured by the ball coming down the channel outside off. In the first two innings of the series, in Southampton, Jason Holder had got the better of him by bowling down that line. But on Friday, Stokes made an effort to let go of those deliveries. In all, Stokes left 102 deliveries, one more than Sibley's tally, and the most by any England batsman since 2006.
Before the start of the Southampton game, for which Stokes was named as the captain, many veterans had drawn comparisons between Stokes and Virat Kohli and that the all-rounder had the ability to lead from the front and with an example. But Stokes truly, in many ways, is similar to Kohli besides their aggressive on-field nature and willing to inspire the team to win. One significant similarity is their willingness to improve and touch new heights of greatness, something which can be traced in Stokes's journey in the format over the last few years. (Also Read | Ravi Shastri welcomes 'Big Ben' to an elite Test-double list after Stokes's 10th century)
On Friday, he recalled his 2019 summer, the one that included the Headingley classic and the unbeaten 115 at Lord's, saying that despite the accolades he wanted to work on his stance in a bid to have a prolonged stay at the crease.
"I went into the winter and worked a lot with [assistant coach] Paul Collingwood," he said. "After 2019, one thing that stood out for me was that, early on in my innings, I felt I was going quite hard at the ball because I wanted to feel the ball on bat. I made a conscious effort to find a way that allows me to play the ball as late as possible for my first 20 to 30 balls.
"I wasn't worried about the change," he added. "I'm always trying to find different way to improve and I found that getting that trigger from leg stump across to off stump allowed me to do that, and also to get back into the ball as well. If I'm hitting the ball straight down the ground - whether with a drive or a defensive shot - I know that everything's in pretty good order for me."
Did it work? Since 2019, Stokes has been England's highest run-getter in Tests with 1355 runs in 16 Tests, averaging 52.11. Stokes, in fact, has been the highest contributor towards England's run during the period with a percentage of 17.79. Second-placed Joe Root, who managed 1114 runs in as many Tests, scored 14.86 per cent of England's runs since 2019. Stokes's tally of four centuries is also the joint-most alongside Australia's Marnus Labuschagne. Not to forget, these contributions by the all-rounder have come while batting at No.5.
Besides these numbers, Stokes also has decent numbers with the ball during the period - 36 wickets at 29.61 - the second-best by an English cricketer after Stuart Broad (52 wickets).
Still worried about the 'Best cricketer in the world' tag? No matter the argument, for or against, Stokes has made an impact in Test cricket like few others from the present era, one that places him among the legends of the format. So, for now, 'England’s best player', as opined by Michael Vaughan, could be the best fit for Stokes.
