Ashes cricket almost has a unique ability to inspire a nation to sit in front of televisions or to pick up a bat and ball, something Ben Stokes was confronted with during the brief interlude between the first and second Test matches.
The first Test at Edgbaston had everything anyone could want from a cricket match. It ebbed and flowed with a thrilling, nail-biting conclusion that held the country’s attention.
A great Ashes series can achieve what the England and Wales Cricket Board has been trying to do for decades: get people who have not engaged with cricket before to head to their local park, tennis ball and plastic bat in hand. England’s Ashes triumph in 2005 was a unique moment – aided by being on free-to-air TV – when even state-school children wanted to play cricket at lunchtime.
Stokes himself was made aware of the potential for another “moment” this summer, when recuperating after the exhilarating first Test, which England lost by two wickets.
“I had a conversation in a changing room at a spa about the game, which was a bit awkward,” the England captain said.
“I think when you take the game away and have these people coming up to you telling you how eye-catching and great it is to watch you understand what we are doing is very, very good.”
Stokes added: “He said, ‘are you the cricketer or do you just look like him?’ and I was like, ‘It’s me’.
“He just said that ‘I went down to the pub after work and I don’t even follow cricket, but I was just going to go down for a quick few’ and he ended up having a few more and just said he was just transfixed on the game.
Ben Stokes during a training session at Lord's— (Getty)
“So when you hear stuff like that it obviously makes you feel good about what we’re doing ... bringing a new fanbase to the game, and it’s reaching people that it might never have reached before.
“We’re all about growing the game... and I think we’ve managed to achieve that quite well.”
Stokes and England have been forced to think again ahead of the Test match at Lord’s.
The captain’s plan to carry eight fast bowlers in his Ashes squad never materialised, and Jack Leach’s injury forced the return to the Test fold of Moeen Ali. Now there is another spanner in the works.
Mark Wood is not fit enough for the second Test, and Josh Tongue earns a surprise call-up, replacing Moeen who sustained a finger injury in the series opener.
Jonny Bairstow, James Anderson and Stokes sit down for a photoshoot as the rest of the team assemble— (Getty)
When asked about his intentions being chipped away at, Stokes said: “You could think like that but Zak [Crawley] actually made an unbelievable speech yesterday in the huddle.
“I don’t know if many of you are aware of it but it was around a Chinese farmer and luck.
“It was basically about ‘we’ll see’, one thing happens and might not mean it’s the end of the end of the world. You don’t why things happen, if it’s for a good reason or not, it’s just one of those things to deal with. The team we’ve picked I’m very confident we can walk away from here with a win rather than worry about things that I don’t have. I’d rather be confident in the things I do have.”
It is true that spinners over the last few years have not had much success at Lord’s, and with a wicket that looks significantly greener than Edgbaston’s offering, and cloudier skies forecast, it should hold a different sort of contest.
Stokes’ resolve is unlikely to waver, so determined have England been in their commitment to Bazball, but going 2-0 down in a home Ashes would undoubtedly be a disaster.
