'speed, Stamina And Skill - Stokes Is Now England's Best Seamer'

Headingley and Bristol. Two World Cups. A surgeon's scalpel to some knee and hamstring.

All of that and plentifulness much has been packed into nan past 8 years of Ben Stokes' career.

On time 2 of nan 4th Test against India astatine Old Trafford he sheepishly led England from nan field, not for his batting aliases a dash of fielding brilliance, but pinch nan lucifer shot successful his hand.

For nan first clip since September 2017 he had taken 5 wickets successful a Test innings.

This was a landmark infinitesimal 8 months successful nan making, aft 8 years of waiting.

When, 11,000 miles from location connected New Zealand's northbound island, Stokes' hamstring pinged for nan 2nd clip successful 5 months successful December, it was not outlandish to mobility whether Stokes would vessel successful a Test again.

It says a batch astir Stokes that he ne'er considered specified an outcome.

"Something other to overcome…go connected then!!!!!!!!" he posted connected societal media afterwards.

"I've sewage truthful overmuch much near successful this vessel and truthful overmuch much humor sweat and tears to spell done for my squad and this shirt."

Hours of rehab followed. Squats astatine location and past successful nan gym.

A ray jog and past runs connected nan way down Durham's Chester-le-Street home.

When his region team-mates were conducting their pre-season media duties successful March, Stokes was jogging betwixt cones successful a woolly chapeau and leggings.

The reward for that is simply a five-wicket haul 76 Tests aft his last. No subordinate successful Test history has had to hold longer betwixt achieving nan feat.

The haul takes Stokes' wicket tally against India this summertime to 16 – nan astir connected either side.

With 3 innings to go, it is nan astir scalps Stokes has taken successful a azygous series, while nan 129 overs he has bowled besides make this his busiest contest.

His erstwhile grounds connected some statistic was his very first bid – nan 2013-14 Ashes erstwhile nan hairsbreadth was shorter, complexion much fresh-faced and correct limb bare of nan phoenix tattoo that now epitomises his career.

Statistics show you plentifulness astir Stokes' bowling this summer.

His mean velocity of 84.2mph is his champion since 2019. He has bowled 30% of deliveries connected a bully statement and magnitude – a fig he has ne'er bettered.

But truthful overmuch truthful astir Stokes successful 2025 has been astir nan measurement it has felt.

In nan 2023 Ashes, earlier nan knee and hamstring ops, Stokes was still trying but erstwhile he did bring himself connected to vessel it seemed to push nan fibres holding his assemblage together to their limits.

The run-up was laboured and while location were still those moments, Stokes relied connected aura each spot arsenic overmuch arsenic skill.

Before this bid began, Stokes said nan clip disconnected aft his January cognition had allowed him to robust retired unintentional eccentricities that had crept into his bowling.

He watched videos of his match-winning spell against South Africa successful Cape Town successful 2020 for inspiration.

"There's truthful galore similarities to that," said opener Zak Crawley, comparing Stokes astatine Old Trafford to that time astatine Newlands erstwhile he stood astatine 3rd slip.

"He was bowling quickly backmost then. He's sewage that gait backmost now and nan measurement he conscionable gets that distant activity from nan right-hander, that zip, which is arsenic overmuch arsenic anyone successful nan world really.

"He's a due wicket-taker and he tin make things hap and that's surely nan lawsuit erstwhile I first came nan broadside backmost past and he seems to person sewage that backmost now, which is simply a phenomenal effort considering nan injuries he's had."

As Crawley says, nan travel is back.

Stokes has raced in, nary longer looking for illustration a man who hurts pinch each step.

His front-knee brace is stone solid, allowing hep and broadside to propel his action to find nan footwear and bounce from nan flattest pitches.

The marathon spells were expected to beryllium banned but bursts of 9.2 overs and 10 overs successful past week's triumph astatine Lord's, wherever not moreover his mate from Under-13s Joe Root could return nan shot from his hand, were followed by different 10 connected nan rotation present either broadside of lunch.

The consequence not only been a flurry of wickets but a postulation of important ones.

Akash Deep's disconnected stump was uprooted astatine Lord's to group up nan final-day thriller and Jasprit Bumrah bounced retired nan pursuing time erstwhile he and Ravindra Jadeja threatened nan improbable.

At Headingley, Stokes dismissed Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur to let Josh Tongue to mop up nan tail. And successful Manchester, he saw disconnected his other number Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan – nan top-scorer successful India's innings - and Washington Sundar, whose business pinch Rishabh Pant was pushing India towards nan ascendancy.

Despite not making a 50 successful immoderate of his six innings, Stokes has adjacent declare to being their subordinate of nan series.

After this, England's skipper will person different three-and-a-half months disconnected – planned alternatively than enforced - earlier nan Ashes successful Australia, wherever his Test travel began.

Stokes is wiser these days.

Where team-mate Ian Bell had to propulsion him distant from a confrontation pinch Brad Haddin 12 years agone - nan Australia wicketkeeper took pleasance successful a no-ball denying nan all-rounder his first wicket - past week it was Stokes stepping successful to abstracted his bowler Brydon Carse from confronting Ravindra Jadeja.

That level-headedness is what England fans must now cling to. They must dream that, as Joe Root suggested past week, Stokes knows his assemblage champion and will not push it beyond its limits again.

Because while nan talk astir England needing Stokes to fulfil his domiciled arsenic a 4th seamer is valid, it besides does him a disservice.

The activity has paid off. Stokes is nary fourth seamer.

These days he is England's number one.