James Anderson has hailed England captain Ben Stokes as an "absolute freak" after he was named player of the match in his side's stunning victory over South Africa in the second Test at Old Trafford.
Stokes starred with both bat and ball as England levelled the series ahead of a decider at the Oval, striking a brilliant hundred and picking up match figures of 4-47. On day three, Stokes bowled a 14-over spell with the old ball either side of the tea break where he took the key wickets of Keegan Petersen and Rassie van der Dussen.
Petersen and Van der Dussen had frustrated England for the best part of two sessions, but Stokes removed them both in successive overs before Anderson and Ollie Robinson took the second new ball and ripped through South Africa's lower order in 5.1 overs to seal a brilliant win by an innings and 85 runs.
When asked about Stokes' mammoth spell, Anderson told Sky Sports : "It's frightening. He's just an absolute freak.
"He does that day in, day out, he's just got a hundred as well yesterday. He batted for however long, and then to be able to put in that sort of spell and get the wickets that he did.
"That was the key, being able to break them open before the new ball made a huge difference. And imagine if he had a body that actually functioned properly, he'd be absolutely frightening.
"He's an absolute machine and he leads by example as well. He's not just a good captain on the field. The way he just shows us how to play the game is a real credit to him."
However, Stokes characteristically played down his efforts, saying he wanted to "make something out of nothing" and then let Anderson and Robinson "take the rewards at the end. He said: "When you are bowling with the older ball when nothing is really happening, you have to create your own energies and own theatre around that.
"It's something I've done over my career with the older ball, just to try and run in and hit the wicket as hard as I can and try and make something out of nothing. Then let the new-ball bowlers take the rewards at the end."
