Ben Stokes is an England Cricketer with the potential to be a world beater. I have clearly never met Stokes, but he appears to be very passionate about cricket and life. This delivers a determination and ability to ‘make things happen’. But the negative is that over the years he has been easily wound up. The first time we saw this was the infamous incident with the Marlon Samuels salute (which I do not approve of). This culminated on a night out in Bristol on 25th September 2017 when video emerged which appeared to show Stokes in the middle of a late night street brawl. Stokes has since been cleared of affray.
On Thursday 30th May Ben Stokes 2019 took an amazing catch. It bought back memories of another ridiculous catch that Stokes took in 2015. The 2 catches are totally different. One is before the 25th September 2017.
You can see the 2 catches here and here.
When it comes to slip catching, I am not sure the quality is not as good as it used to be. Of course, England used to have one of the best slip fielders of all time in Ian Botham – he used to stand so close in. Even since then though, you could mention Thope, Trescothick, Flintoff, Strauss, Collingwood…..I could go on. In recent years though, England have had one of the poorest slip cordons I can remember. However, away from slip catches we see catches that would not even have been considered possible in 1993 when Botham called it a day.
It is tempting to compare Botham and Stokes in so many ways (throw Andrew Flintoff into the mix). On the field my view is that Botham was a vastly superior bowler and probably a better batsman (though the batting is less clear-cut). But when it comes to fielding, Stokes is the stand out. As the videos show, Stokes is brilliant in gully and in the outfield, and he is a decent slipper too. The 2015 catch is down to reflexes and natural ability. The 2019 catch should have been easy but Stokes misjudged it and then came a moment of brilliance.
I suspect that when it comes to the 3 all-rounders, it might be off the field where the similarities are greatest (alcohol and pedalos undoubtedly come to mind). And it is off the field where things really went wrong for Stokes.
In September 2017 Stokes scored a test match century and 2 half centuries. He scored 73 on 24 September. He had taken a few wickets and it really felt like his career was going to take off. Then he did not play for England for months because of the incident outside a Bristol nightclub.
We will never know what happened that night. The one thing we do know is that he should not have been wondering around Bristol in the small hours. Certainly not during a one day series, I would argue not at all in his position. I do wonder what his agent and the England security staff were playing at but that is another story. Eventually personal responsibility comes into it. Of course Stokes has been cleared of criminal activity. His career has been damaged for sure and he missed an away Ashes Series.
Since that incident, Stokes has not been the same cricketer. Word is that he is a changed man. Certainly what we have seen on the cricket field has been a focus on being the team player. The swashbuckling appeared to be gone. Last week was the first piece of outrageous brilliance we have seen since Stokes returned to English Cricket.
It is tempting to draw all sort of conclusions about Stokes. Some would say he should not have played for England again – and he would not have if he had been found guilty. But having been found not guilty, we move on. It is also tempting to get angry about the lost time. I think it highly unlikely that Stokes could have changed the result of the Ashes series in 2017/8 (not without Sandpaper anyway). Since Stokes has returned England have needed him and he has not performed. It is frustrating that Stokes is not listed as the best all-rounder in the world as he has the talent to be the best.
It is worth a mention of Alex Hales, who was with Stokes that night though was not the person throwing the punches as far as we know. But as a result of that night, Hales and Stokes were suspended which let Jason Roy back in the team. ‘JRoy’ has been ‘un-droppable’ since. A lesson in that about not taking life for granted.
Rather than being angry, I prefer to respect Stokes who has apparently learnt something and striven to change his ways. I really hope this article does not come back to bite me, but I do believe Stokes is taking a different approach. Time will tell.
I hope he will now find away to combine this with more brilliance on the field. Against the West Indies on 14th June would be a good time for some brilliance, I think England will need it in that game.
I am hoping that Stokes will be permitted a night out on Sunday 14th July, just after he has scored a century and taken 5 wickets in order to allow England to win the World Cup.
* Pictures all from the BBC
Cricketed 