Did we all imagine that? What Ben Stokes did today was insane. It was both destructive and majestic. Innings like that are endangering T20 cricket.
What impressed me most is that it wasn’t just adrenaline fuelled slogging; it was calculated brutality. Stokes picked the right balls to hit, and hit them he did … right into next week.
Here’s a summary of the landmarks Stokes reached today:
Most sixes in a test innings for England
Highest test score by an England batsman against South Africa
Highest test score by a number six in test history
Fastest 250 in test history
Fastest double century by an England test batsman
It was also the most entertaining innings that I’ve ever seen. I’m sure Ben will cherish this final accolade the most. Ahem.
But we shouldn’t forget Jonny Bairstow’s part. It takes two to tango, and Stokes and Bairstow’s partnership was the second largest in England’s test history. That’s one hell of a statistic. Jonny will savour his first test century more than most. He played bloody well.
Although today was a high point for English cricket, it was also a dismal low for South Africa. It was a superb batting pitch – more about that later – but the Cricket Boks simply fell apart. Amla’s captaincy was terrible and all of the bowlers copped a walloping.
Would Dale Steyn have made a difference? Quite possibly. But Steyn won’t be around forever. Their future without him looks bleak.
Stokes contribution also shows how valuable match-winning genuine all-rounders are. There’s really no substitute for a five man attack. South Africa’s three main seamers were all exhausted by the end. They’ll need a week’s worth of ice baths to recover. England’s fifth bowler, and history maker with the bat, also claimed the key wicket of Elgar.
So where does this game stand now? England are in the ascendancy, obviously. But it won’t be easy to pick up the remaining eighteen wickets needed for victory. This pitch is a glorious one for batting. It’s almost an unfair contest in some ways. The partnership between Amla and de Villiers tomorrow will be key. Both batsmen are capable of going very big … not to mention long. There’s a lot of hard work ahead for Anderson, Broad, Finn and Co.
However, one feels that the psychological advantage attained by England today counts for more than mere runs. This new team is gaining in confidence all the time. One of our players achieved something truly great today. Who’s to say this team won’t go on to great things too?
It’s obviously premature to make predictions, but today’s events can’t help but fuel one’s imagination.
James Morgan
A rare and genuine ‘I remember where I was when’ day……magical!
Ben Stokes 200 marking a milestone in Poppy’s life! You will have to tell her about it in years to come! :)
Yes indeed. My little boy learned to ride his bike today (!) and my baby Polly rolled over for the first time, but Stokes’ hundred was definitely the highlight of the weekend ;-)
Utterly brilliant from Stokes and Bairstow! Thoroughly entertaining stuff. People say that Stokes will never have great stats because he’s an ‘impact’ player but when he bats like that it’s clear that he could potentially average 40+ eventually; in fact, at 6 he already does – we must give a lot of credit to Farbrace for promoting him, I reckon.
Great job by Bairstow too, hopefully he can nail down that wicketkeeper position because his record for Yorkshire is outstanding.
The game will probably end in a draw, it seems a belting pitch, but England surely can’t lose from here.
Put into perspective by how long it took England to take the 3rd South African wicket.