All-rounder kept the Ashes series alive with his brilliance at Headingley and surely enabled some of his England colleagues to retain their places for the fourth Test in Manchester
Thanks to Ben Stokes, there is still an Ashes series to savour. Thanks to Stokes, this may even be a summer to rival the epics of 1981 and 2005. Thanks to Stokes, Jason Roy and Jos Buttler keep their places in the Test team.
Currently everyone, except a vibrant band of visiting Australians, is indebted to him. This cricketing summer is still alive after more miracles at Headingley, a melodrama that all those watching or listening to found captivating, and they all understood what was going on as well, whatever their age or gender (and please no more complaints about references to women and children needing something easier to comprehend on a cricket field – that notion came from the upper echelons of the ECB).
