The moment will linger.
Ben Stokes with his flaming red hair a glowing blaze on the green under the afternoon sun.
The ball gripped at the end of the fiercely tattooed arm. The strides hasten with the final bursts of boundless energy. The ball propelled, fast, full, straight, on the leg stump. Mark Craig’s bat comes down a trifle late, the red cherry brushes his pads and crashes into the stumps. READ: Stokes plays two career-defining knocks against New Zealand
The crowded arc of fieldsmen from wicketkeeper to second gully go up in unison. With an exultation of untold joy, Stokes erupts in ecstasy. The England fielders converge on the man of the moment in a huddle of unbridled celebration.
After four days and five hours of fickle fluctuation of fortunes, the end is in sight. The English team, 134 behind in the first innings, 232 for 4 in the second essay halfway through the fourth day, has suddenly emerged on the brink of an incredible victory in an incredible Test match. READ: Alastair Cook lauds Ben Stokes after England defeat New Zealand in 1st Test
They owe it to Stokes, the man who strode in at that No 6 the day before and hammered 101 from 92 balls with 15 fours and three sixes. He got the runs, and got them fast, grabbing the game by the collar and snatching it away from the Kiwis, giving England just enough time to close it out in a fascinating finish.
And now he is in the thick of things yet again, hitting timber, picking up his third wicket in just his eighth over. That is why the other ten have surrounded him. He is touched by something special.
Alastair Cook, whose nine-hour vigil provided the plinth on which Stokes essayed his audacious strokes, finally manages a winning smile. It is a smile forged through raging fire. READ: England defeat New Zealand by 124 runs in 1st Test at Lord’s
This is Test cricket at its very best.
Cricket needs men like Stokes. Cricket needs performances like his.
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