Ben Stokes played his 100th Test in Rajkot last week, an occasion preceded by countless breathless profiles, articles that portrayed him almost as a superhuman, playing his own game, dancing to his own tune. He was described as an innovator, a visionary and a masterly captain. Well, sport has a way of putting you in your place and India certainly did that.
I don’t want to minimise Stokes’s achievements. Visiting Lord’s and the Oval during the Ashes series last summer I did a few Q&As with fans in lunch breaks. There is no doubt the public were enthralled by his team. As captain he inherited a group that were playing poorly and losing. He has taken the pressure off them, galvanised them and given them a method they are happy to use.
