Ben Stokes' first slice of birthday cake as Test captain turned him into England's gateau blaster.
On the day he turned 31, Stokes threw off his superhero's cape and unfurled a bipolar half-century decorated with brainstorms and brilliance in a Lord's thriller. If England take the chequered flag in the 1st LV= Insurance Test against New Zealand today, Stokes' belligerent 54 will go down as a turning point.
Set 277 to win, the birthday boy marched to the crease with England in disarray at 69-4 – and batted like he wanted to have his cake and eat it. He was a man with a flan. Closing on 216-5, they still need another 61 – but Joe Root is 77 not out after 4hr 20min of exemplary application, and Stokes' predecessor has yet to play a false shot.
Stuart Broad, whose 'hat-trick' in the first session had begun England's memorable fightback, said: “I think Ben is at his best when he has the game on the line. That's always the sign of a world-class player and a world-class character. He's played some incredible knocks in the first innings of Test matches before, but he's a situation player – it suits him when it's laid out in front of him.
“It would be right up there if we could get over the line. Going to bed last night, it felt like we had let them get a bit too far away from us. We will need a positive mindset to finish the job, but the way Rooty and Stokesy played today showed how this team wants to go about it.”
If England can go 1-0 up, Stokes will feel like all his birthdays have come at once.
Presented with a card signed by his team-mates in the huddle before start of play, Big Ben had scored only one when was castled by Colin de Grandhomme, slogging indiscriminately, and he was halfway back to the pavilion before he was reprieved by a marginal no-ball call.
But he deposited Ajaz Patel's left-arm spin dismissively into the grandstand for three sixes, and just as Stokes was threatening to turn 142 minutes of mercurial defiance into match-winning violence, he was bounced out by all-rounder Kyle Jamieson (4-59), gloving an attempted upper-cut to Kiwis keeper Tom Blundell. Slamming his thigh pad in frustration as he stomped off, Stokes left Root to give his glove story a happy ending – and so far England's best batsman has played another blinder.
England had begun the day staring down the barrel, with New Zealand 227 runs ahead with six wickets in hand. It was Broad who gave them hope of drawing first blood – even if he didn't unfurl his promised bow-and-arrow celebration in honour of his beloved Nottingham Forest's promotion.
Already with two Test hat-tricks to his name – against India at Trent Bridge in 2011 and versus Sri Lanka at Headingley three years later – he came bursting through the door like a saloon bar gunslinger in his Rambo bandana. Either side of Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell's 195-run stand, the Kiwis' aggregate score was 222 for 19. In other words, it was just like watching England bat.
But when Mitchell's 307-minute vigil for a superb 108 ended, nibbling at Broad's leg-cutter down the slope, the Black Caps went downhill faster than the Cresta Run. De Grandhomme, dawdling out of his ground, was run out by Ollie Pope's direct hit next ball, and from the next Broad sent Kyle Jamieson's off-stump for a spin to complete the team hat-trick, before debutant Matt Potts finished with impressive match figures of 7-68.
With 75 overs plus two days to reach the summit, England had all the time in the world to pull off their second-highest run chase at Lord's. But until the captain went for broke, they brought only canapes to the feast.
Alex Lees shouldered arms to a straight ball, Ollie Pope doesn't look like a Test No.3, and the gate between Jonny Bairstow's bat and pad was wide enough for a coach and horses. Once he settled down, Captain Fantastic set the right tone.
In the Test Match Special commentary box, former England captain Sir Alastair Cook asked: “Can Ben Stokes just stand still and bat? Please? It's beautiful when he stays still.”
It will be even more beautiful if England bank only their second Test win in 18 games.
