Ben Stokes was back to his rip-roaring best with a blazing hundred that would have had his late dad Ged purring.
His 11th Test ton did have the Kensington Oval crowd, including Sir Garry Sobers, rising in appreciation for just over three hours of fun and frolics. And once he reached three figures from just 114 balls, he removed his helmet and gloves, looked to the sky and bent his middle finger down in quiet reflection and thought about the father he lost just over a year ago.
It was the first hundred he had scored since then, and clearly meant a lot considering how much cricket he missed in 2021 due to a finger injury and to look after his mental health. "It was nice to get to the hundred and look up to the sky and remember him," said Stokes.
"I had got 99 in an ODI in India which was a bit of a dagger to the heart. Of the hundreds I’ve got personally, that's probably one of the more memorable ones with everything that’s gone on over the last 18 months, two years. So it’s a very special feeling."
The same could be said of Matthew Fisher ’s first Test wicket from just his second ball after England had declared on 507-9. With John Campbell’s edge safely pouched by Ben Foakes, it was impossible not to notice his similar point and glance up to the sky in acknowledgement of the father he lost as a teenager to bowel cancer, and a man who loved Barbados.
Incredibly six of this England team have lost a parent before they were 30, and four of them while they were children. Resilience is clearly a feature in their dressing room.
"It is always special to get your first wicket so for Fish to get it here, what a moment," added Stokes with the Windies ending the day 71-1. "And everyone has something that means something to them in a celebration."
For Stokes though, this innings was all about a return to his best batting form and, in taking 18 runs from one Alzarri Joseph over, there is no doubt the Mirror Sport columnist is now adding more to his legend as one of the finest all rounders this country has produced. Lord Ian Botham still retains the crown, for now, but as he also looked on from the stands he knows that Stokes is putting together the numbers that will spark a fearsome debate in due course.
The way that Stokes almost reached his hundred in a session to be 89 not out at lunch on day two, tells you how much bang he was providing for the crowd’s buck. And when the 30-year-old left hander connected with the fourth of six maximums it took him past 5,000 Test runs, making him just the fifth man to make as many runs as well as take more than 150 wickets.
Sobers and Botham are two, while Kapil Dev and Jacques Kallis are the others in such rarified company. They all had huge impacts on the successes of their teams and together with skipper Joe Root, England have a captain and vice-captain doing the same in this new era.
It seems almost rude to say that Root’s 12th score above 150 was a mere footnote, but it was, as he happily handed the strike over to his partner to do yet more damage. Root was in typically serene control as he added 34 to his overnight 119 before Kemar Roach got his angles spot on to strike with an lbw that needed a review to remove him for 153.
With the lower middle order all staying true to their attacking instincts the scoreboard rattled along as wickets fell before the bowlers could take their turn to impress.
