Trent Bridge, Nottingham, turned into an amphitheatre on the fourth day of the final Test match of the recently completed three-match Test series between England and New Zealand. Fans in the gallery learnt that their captain will not be wearing the England badge again. And the man? The veteran with a humongous experience of 279 international games just loves to have cinematic climaxes in his life.
He steamed in from over the wicket. Bowled a length ball around the off stump. The concussion sub Zakary Foulkes had to play at that one. He responded with a tentative poke and the outside edge flew to the slip cordon. Harry Brook, his deputy, snaffled a good low catch at second slip. The Trent Bridge crowd were made aware of the retirement news just a while ago and the England skipper evoked a frenzy with a breakthrough. A fitting moment? Emotional climax? Nothing unnatural. Benjamin Andrew Stokes has been a cynosure in these situations quite a few times throughout his career!
Unbelievable legacy
The illustrious career began in 2011, and in the span of 15 years, there was making of history, there were flaws, controversies hovered over him, but his being a talismanic all-rounder is undeniable to the entire cricketing fraternity.
That 135 at Headingley, that unbeaten 84 at Lord’s made his legacy immortal. Conceding those four sixes against Carlos Brathwaite, declining numbers in Test cricket in recent years have led people to question his standing as a cricketer. Getting engaged in altercations has led to tarnishing his public image. On top of all, Stokes has remained a character whom you can love, whom you can hate, but you simply can not ignore.
If we go through the record books, Stokes has a lot to be proud of. With an experience of 122 Test matches, he is England’s sixth most-capped cricketer in the purest format. In the history of 149 years of Test cricket, 723 players have donned the England jersey and only James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Joe Root, Alastair Cook and Alec Stewart are ahead of him.
One of the best all-rounders
He also boasts the record of hitting the most sixes in Test cricket. His tally of 138 is exactly 31 sixes ahead of the next best, Brendon McCullum (107). Among all the active cricketers, only Rishabh Pant (97) is close to toppling him, as he has a lot of cricket left in him.
As an all-rounder, Stokes is only the second all-rounder after the legendary Jacques Kallis to score over 7,000 runs and take 250 Test wickets.
With all this, if you think his legacy is overwhelming in red-ball cricket, then one astonishing fact will pop up. He is the highest individual scorer for England in an ODI innings. His whirlwind knock of 182 off 124 balls against New Zealand at the Oval in 2023 bettered the previous best of 180 by Jason Roy against Australia at Melbourne in 2018.
Stokes’ career has seen it all. From highs to lows, from debacles to redemption and everything. If Kolkata, 2016 was the nadir of his career, the cricket god was magnanimous to pour all his blessings on him on 14th July, 2019 at Lord’s.
His Test legacy began as a batter with a scintillating hundred against Australia on an unplayable deck, but that was shattered in the last three years of his career, when he averaged 29.83. His tenure as a Test captain was castigated for England’s inability to win series against India and Australia, but he emerged as one of England’s greatest when records enter the chat.
Incredible leader
Winning 24 of his 44 Tests as a skipper, his win percentage is 54.54. 13 players have led England for more than 30 Tests, and barring Stokes, only two have more than 50% of Test wins – Mike Brearley (58.06%) and Michael Vaughan (50.98%).
Though fans will not see him as an England cricketer anymore, there’s still plenty of cricket left in him. Taking international retirement and being available for the franchise leagues has been a trend. He might be seen as a T20 globetrotter as plenty of leagues go on throughout the year. A hefty IPL contract might be on the cards. SA20 or a Big Bash League team may eagerly wait to sign him. He has played just a handful of games in The Hundred, and we might see more of him now.
Stokes will make his presence felt. Those cameos, those blitzkriegs, a few crucial bowling spells and maybe another all-time great performance in a clutch moment are imminent when you hear the name. The England jersey might miss him; he might miss stepping up for his country, but the game will not miss the talismanic all-rounder.
As the saying goes, “You may love him, you may hate him, but you cannot ignore him.” That’s what the quintessential cricketer is all about!
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