Whether he is good, bad or indifferent, you simply cannot ignore Ben Stokes.
So often England’s talisman, it is a well-worn cliche that Stokes ‘makes things happen’. But it also rings true.
On Wednesday, despite struggling for batting form on his return to the England Twenty20 team, he once again showed he can change the course of a match – whether through sheer force of will or moments of cricketing genius.
Back in the T20 side for the first time since March 2021, the 31-year-old’s two innings so far have been scratchy and short-lived, scoring just nine and seven.
His innings in the first match stymied England’s momentum, which seems remarkable to say when you compare his momentum-seizing approach to Test cricket this summer.
And after he was bowled attempting to heave leg-spinner Adam Zampa out of the ground in the second match on Wednesday, the Test Match Special commentary team began to consider what many thought unthinkable: does Stokes deserve his place in the T20 team?
“That’s hardly the sort of innings that will fill the selectors with confidence,” said Henry Morean. “Stokes may be England’s Test captain but in T20 cricket there is no certainty he will be in the England side for the start of the World Cup.”
Daniel Norcross added: “Ben Stokes is not really a quick starter in T20s. There’s a perception of what Ben Stokes is that doesn’t really match with reality.
“People also talk about his bowling but his bowling in T20s has been quite expensive in the past, so I’d be more inclined to look at Liam Livingstone when he is fit.”
Stokes’ T20 international bowling average of 37.25 feeds into that argument and places a lot of focus on his batting. It may surprise some to know Stokes has never hit a T20 half-century for England and averages just 19 in 36 matches.
Waiting in the wings, Livingstone is a destructive batter in his own right who has a T20 international hundred to his name. He is likely to be fit for England’s final warm-up match against Pakistan on Monday.
Also out of the team and waiting for his chance is Phil Salt, who caught the eye with his aggressive batting in the T20 series victory over Pakistan last month.
Yet even when he is below his best in one area of the game, Stokes is often involved in key moments in the others.
In Canberra on Wednesday, he opened the bowling for the first time in a T20 international, conceding just four, before a supreme piece of fielding left the crowd aghast.
When Mitchell Marsh clubbed Sam Curran over long-off, it looked to be a six all the way.
Enter Stokes, who somehow dived full stretch to pluck the white ball out of the dark night sky. Realising he was tumbling over the rope, he clawed the ball back over the boundary rope. Six runs became two. England would eventually win by eight runs.
At the end of the match, when asked what was the difference between the sides, Australia captain Aaron Finch said: “Fielding. We were really poor – sloppy, dropped chances.”
Not England. Not Stokes.
Three balls after the boundary heroics, Curran removed Marcus Stoinis and three overs after that Stokes – via a catch from Curran – dismissed the dangerous Marsh just as the Australia number three looked to be cutting loose.
It was enough to tip a tight match in England’s favour.
Australia know more than most – you can never keep Stokes quiet for long.
