Stokes tests his body’s limits as he keeps England in it as he starred with the ball and in the field on Day 3.
Big-game Stokes tests his limits to keep England alive.
From the balcony of the dressing room, Brendon McCullum yelled down to Tim Southee, “Tell him,” pointing to Ben Stokes in the distance. McCullum sent Southee down to the boundary edge, in front of the Allen Stand, after Stokes had just bowled his seventh straight over since the tea break. The coach of England had reached a breaking point.
Stokes appeared keen to be the star of the third day at Lord’s as India’s batters hammered away. With a high pace of 90 mph, he stormed in for 14 overs, the most he has in a single day since the start of this series; he hit Nitish Kumar Reddy on the helmet before nicking him off; and he displayed some magic in the field to run Rishabh Pant out.
Stokes’ final numbers, 2 for 63 from 20 overs, were unimpressive and didn’t mean much because the teams finished their first innings exactly tied. Nevertheless, there were encouraging signals for Stokes and England, especially since he appeared to have a right groin injury on the first night that would have prevented him from bowling at all.
Stokes reached 90 mph during a five-over surge in the second hour of the day, hitting Pant with a short ball that forced him to take evasive action. In that period, he averaged 85 mph (136 kph) as he charged in, intent on ending Pant’s partnership with KL Rahul, which he accomplished just before noon.
In an apparent attempt to get Rahul back on track and hit his hundred, Pant chose to drop-and-run, but Stokes came running in from cover and took up the ball cleanly. He was much closer to the striker’s end, but he pinged the ball to the bowler’s end after noticing that Pant was having trouble holding his footing. Stokes yelled in celebration as his direct hit caught him well short.
He rocked Reddy on the helmet with a bouncer and kept up the tempo on a pitch that offered virtually nothing to the seamers of both teams. After tea, he attempted to entice Ravindra Jadeja into a fight after finding some additional bounce from a length that was just short of a decent one.
With an eight-wicket record at 34.50, it might not be immediately clear, but Stokes has been England’s most reliable bowler in this series. He seemed to have benefited from managing his workload on a flat ground at Edgbaston, bowling 15 overs on the opening day but only 11 after that. “He is in some unbelievable rhythm,” concluded Southee.
Stokes bowled 20 overs in an innings for the second time in three Test matches, a feat he had only accomplished once in the previous 24 Tests. At least they have been able to rely on Stokes’ physicality if the three flat pitches, India’s hitters, and the soft Dukes ball have shown England’s attack’s weaknesses in this series.
Stokes’ next assignment will be to use the bat to help. Before this Test, he was uncharacteristically tetchy when asked about his recent troubles with the bat; his longest response was, “Hopefully, a score is around the corner.” He hasn’t made a Test hundred in more than two years.
After Alex Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s in 2023, he scored his most recent Test century against Australia in a flurry of crimson mist. He couldn’t have asked for a better setup for his final two days at Lord’s after another spark on the third evening brought this series to life.