Ben Stokes and Dan Lawrence impressed for England during the second West Indies Test in Barbados
(Picture: Getty Images)That England were in with a sniff of winning the Second Test in Barbados on the deadest of pitches was down to the impetus provided by two of their batters: Dan Lawrence and Ben Stokes, who was back to his best with bat and ball.
Our treatment of Stokes in the last few years has confused me. We spend decades looking for the new Ian Botham, then years searching for the new Andrew Flintoff. Stokes came along and so many people rush to push his bowling to one side and make him a batter. People always talk about what he shouldn’t be doing. The focus should be on what he can be: the heartbeat of a team in all facets.
His batting and bowling are interlinked. Stokes is not the best batter in the world. He will never be a clinical run-scorer like Joe Root or Viral Kohli. He might play better innings than them, but he will never consistently be a better batter. And he isn’t the best bowler in the world, but he has plenty of skill and can be used as the game requires.
As that package, even if he is neither the best batter or bowler, he is the best cricketer in the world. That is what separates him from the rest and makes him a cricketing unicorn.
For a while, England have been a team whose captain, Root, played in such a positive manner. But the rest of the batting order didn’t know how to follow him. With Stokes back to what he does best, demolishing attacks, the order starts to work again.
It was nice to see him with the shackles off, albeit on a flat pitch against a modest attack. You think back to the best teams and they had players you feared: Greenidge and Haynes, Hayden and Ponting. Stokes is a player to be feared.
Stokes built on Lawrence’s good work on day one. Lawrence is proving a highly resourceful cricketer with bat, ball and in the field.
I remember playing against him on first-class debut and watching him demolish South Africa when he was in the England Under-19s, and thinking he was a bit special. He was whipping the life out it and going over extra cover even then. In England, we sometimes see uniqueness like that as a technical flaw. With a player like Lawrence, I think those quirks should be encouraged. Kevin Pietersen worked the ball from off to leg, why can’t Lawrence? He is a straightforward see-ball, hit-ball player who doesn’t concern himself too much with technique. Just play, let your talent take over.
You judge players on their talent and character. Character is important, but character without talent gets you nowhere. Lawrence oozes both.
I like that he has a bit of Essex swagger. There is self-belief and cockiness there, but not arrogance. All the top players have self-belief, but we often try to force cockiness out of players. I like it in Lawrence very much, that sense he could spot a fool. I sense we will be seeing much more of him.
