What a fabulous piece of writing , you described & analysed the man and the cricketer wonderfully .
But you omitted to mention the defeatist side of the man . After the 4-1 defeat on tour to a sub strength Indian team , he openly stated that he had known all along that his team never had a chance of winning the series . In his mind (though never in his comments post an identical scoreline in the latest Ashes defeat ) he probably had the same pessimism and defeatist thinking .
He brought a wonderful breath of fresh air to English cricket in 2022 and 2023 but by 2025 it had turned foul .. polluted by a lack of common sense and indiscipline on and off the field .
Thank you for reading and the kind words, Behram! I honestly feel the defeatist post-series quotes were their way of weirdly saying “Not our fault” haha.
Yes , a lot of loud Tom-Tomming the fearless brand of cricket when England won and a ‘ retreat ‘ following defeat into suggesting the team itself is not at the higher level of the opponent .
This is one of the best pieces I’ve read on Ben Stokes because it avoids the lazy “greatest ever” debate and instead asks a more interesting question: what kind of great was he? Not every legend is defined by averages. Some are defined by moments that permanently alter how people remember the game. Stokes belongs in that category alongside players like Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff—cricketers whose greatest performances arrived when the stakes were highest. I also appreciated that the article didn’t shy away from criticizing the excesses of Bazball or the theatrical nature of his farewell. You can admire Stokes’ extraordinary ability to bend matches to his will while acknowledging that his captaincy philosophy often crossed the line between bravery and recklessness. That’s a balanced legacy, and probably the most honest one.
What a fabulous piece of writing , you described & analysed the man and the cricketer wonderfully .
But you omitted to mention the defeatist side of the man . After the 4-1 defeat on tour to a sub strength Indian team , he openly stated that he had known all along that his team never had a chance of winning the series . In his mind (though never in his comments post an identical scoreline in the latest Ashes defeat ) he probably had the same pessimism and defeatist thinking .
He brought a wonderful breath of fresh air to English cricket in 2022 and 2023 but by 2025 it had turned foul .. polluted by a lack of common sense and indiscipline on and off the field .
Thank you for reading and the kind words, Behram! I honestly feel the defeatist post-series quotes were their way of weirdly saying “Not our fault” haha.
Yes , a lot of loud Tom-Tomming the fearless brand of cricket when England won and a ‘ retreat ‘ following defeat into suggesting the team itself is not at the higher level of the opponent .
This is one of the best pieces I’ve read on Ben Stokes because it avoids the lazy “greatest ever” debate and instead asks a more interesting question: what kind of great was he? Not every legend is defined by averages. Some are defined by moments that permanently alter how people remember the game. Stokes belongs in that category alongside players like Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff—cricketers whose greatest performances arrived when the stakes were highest. I also appreciated that the article didn’t shy away from criticizing the excesses of Bazball or the theatrical nature of his farewell. You can admire Stokes’ extraordinary ability to bend matches to his will while acknowledging that his captaincy philosophy often crossed the line between bravery and recklessness. That’s a balanced legacy, and probably the most honest one.
Thank you, Ajit!