The brilliance of Ben Stokes

Test cricket, bloody hell! For years, it’s been getting the last rites – now it’s the most exciting way anyone can spend five days. The scale of England’s synapse-stunning victory over New Zealand at Trent Bridge is boggling enough: England’s fifth-highest run chase (299) and fastest ever; the highest number of boundaries scored in a Test; a 77-ball hundred from Jonny Bairstow; Bairstow and Ben Stokes rumbling along after tea at 16 an over – unheard of in Test cricket.

But it was about much more than mere stats: the feel-good factor poured out of Nottingham. This was an exuberant, exciting, free-flowing game, with players willing to challenge the traditions of how Test cricket is played. These are not your usual ‘Test’ batsmen, willing to ‘shut up shop’ for session after session, but hugely gifted all-round players giving of their best.

Rob Key, English cricket’s managing director, advised fans to ‘buckle up and get ready for the ride’ after appointing Brendon (‘Baz’) McCullum, a Kiwi, as coach, and Stokes, a man with a lot of Kiwi in his blood, as skipper. On the eve of Trent Bridge, Stokes issued a rallying cry which should be taken up everywhere. ‘At the end of the day, when you’re playing for your country, first and foremost is to make sure you have as much fun as you possibly can.’ Anyone want to quarrel with that?

He’s an extraordinary figure, Stokes. There’s a strong case to be made that over the five days, the key innings wasn’t necessarily Ollie Pope’s brilliant ton, or Joe Root proving once again that he is the best batsman in the world, or Bairstow’s match-winning slaughter of some of best pace bowlers in the world.