It is now official that Ben Stokes, the magnificent cricketer, will not be part of the remainder of the series against Pakistan. He will have to attend to certain personal tasks and as such will be travelling to New Zealand where his wider family lives. This means that Pakistan have got an incredible opportunity not only to square the series but to win the series as well.
Mind blowing performances of Stokes
Stokes’s performance over the last 15 months has been nothing short of a miracle. His recent performances in South Africa is still very much fresh in the minds of anyone who watched those tests. The 70odd that he scored at Cape Town was a brilliant innings by any standard.
England had levelled the 4 match series in the previous game and were looking to take the lead with a win in this test but they were desperately running short of time because of Denly’s and Sibley’s rather slow batting. Stokes came in and scored at such a rate that England were able to declare with the next 10 overs. Not only that. Stokes came back with the ball and picked up 3 wickets to enable England take the lead in the series. He followed that with a brilliant 120 in the next test and help England win the series 3-1. Root definitely would have lost his captaincy if not for Stokes.
Probably his most memorable performances were very well known. World Cup win, Ashes 135 with only Leach to support, the marathon 20 overs in the same series, the 248 against South Africa, the match winning bowling against India in Birmingham in 2018. The list goes on and on. He is 29 years old and surely has another 6 years at the top. He may not surpass any individual record for batting or for bowling but he definitely will end up winning lot more games for England. How New Zealand would love to have Stokes playing for them instead of England.
Crater sized hole in the England team
It is an understatement to say that Ben Stokes’s absence has left a crater sized hole in the England team. It is definitely more than that. Stokes is someone who can effortlessly transform his innings. If required, he can bat for 40-50 overs and score a slow and laborious hundred as he showed against the West Indies or he can completely switch to beast mode and score a quick fire hundred. Root usually turns to Stokes as the last resort.
This could be because Root feels Stokes is an allrounder and a rare commodity and must be used judiciously. Ultimately, Stokes ends up bowling almost equal to the main bowlers. He was supposed to play the first test against Pakistan as a batsman because of an injury but he came to bowl in the second innings and picked up the vital wicket of Rizwan when Pakistan were threatening to build a substantial lead. Stokes’s fielding is another aspect through which he has contributed to the England team’s success.
What does this mean for Pakistan?
For Pakistan, this is a huge advantage. If they fail to take advantage of this, they will not be able to win any of the tests. Yes Stokes failed in the first test but history tells us that whenever Stokes has failed, he has comeback with a telling contribution in the next game. Something that will change the game decisively in favour of England. India only know that too well. It was Stokes’s dismissal of Kohli in the first test in 2018 with only 48 to win, that tilted the scales firmly in favour of England. Pakistan will have to realise the massive stroke of luck that they have been handed over. England without Stokes is like a fish out of water, notwithstanding the twin innings of Butler & Woakes. Stokes is the one who keeps the England team in the game all the time.
Stokes’s legacy
It is probably too early to bracket Stokes alongwith the likes of Kallis or Sobers, two of the greatest allrounders the game has ever seen. Both of them were exceptional in batting and quite good with the ball. Both of them average over 50 with the bat and have more than 200 wickets. If Stokes continues in the same vein, he will surely be ranked favourably but probably a level below the two greats.
Other post. In praise of the England cricket teamhttps://icricketcritique.com/in-praise-of-the-england-cricket-team/