It’s finally 1 am where I am, I’m off work and today was officially the last day I got to see Benjamin Andrew Stokes walk onto the field in an England shirt.
If you had told me a year ago that Stokes would not make it to the Ashes 2027, I would’ve laughed it off. He always seemed like the man who would somehow always find his way back, no matter how battered or cornered he was – he always made it out alive.
But it’s strange how life can take some unforeseen turns. One day you are dreaming about the future, and the next you’re standing on a deserted island, trying to make peace with the reality that you are expected to somehow cope with.
In The Heart of Every England Fan
Roll back the clock to the 2015 Ashes. My very first memory of Stokes has to be the opening day at Trent Bridge. I can still picture Stokes flying off at the fifth slip after catching a thick edge from Adam Voges. That was the first time “You cannot do that, Ben Stokes” echoed in my brain. The pure joy and ecstasy of that moment, with Stuart Broad’s hands over his mouth out of utter disbelief. 12-year-old me thought “Yes! This is the peak, and it does not get better than this.”
For an average England fan, Stokes has always been a ray of hope. A phoenix rising from the ashes when all seemed lost. He was the kind of player who let you sleep comfortably at the end of a day’s Test cricket, because as long as he remained at the crease, hope shimmered from a corner.
You knew if he survived the night, something miraculous might happen the next day when you woke up. As a captain, he demanded control over every moment of the game, and every move was within his grasp. People might argue with some of his tactics and question certain ideologies, but one thing was undeniable: he was always in command. He orchestrated the entire passage of gameplay with such precision that it often left opponents speechless, never quite able to predict what card he could play next.
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The Man Who Never Bowed Down
2016 saw Stokes suffer some of the cruelest blows of his career. In the span of four deliveries, he went from being a potential World Cup winner to a nobody with countless fingers pointing at him. Carlos Brathwaite’s iconic four sixes, which became one of the most historic moments in cricket history, were an inescapable nightmare in someone else’s book. Young, bewildered, eyes red with tears: Stokes drops to his knees, his head in his hands, with a consoling arm of his best mate Joe Root around him.
But life has its way of reminding us that times change. If good days don’t last forever, neither do the bad ones. To be able to bury that agony, get yourself together and move forward with a clear head is the sole mindset for survival.
And that is exactly what Ben Stokes did and eventually led his team to not just one but two World Cup wins. The boy who walked off in tears on that dark, gloomy night at Eden Gardens in 2016 had his world turned upside down. Three years later, he returned as a different beast. Standing beneath the Lords’ balcony with two World Cup medals around his neck, rewriting the same story that once threatened to define him.
The Art of Defying The Impossible
Stokes’ dictionary never included the word “impossible”. There have been numerous times when he stood like an immovable rock between his opponents and the dreams they were chasing. He has given sleepless nights to opponents’ players and coaches alike. Let’s take a trip back to arguably the best year of English Cricket, 2019 – when he defied every law of destiny. The one where he wrote his own script and a month later recreated the same miracle at Headingley.
Whether you were seated in Western Terrace, or at the pub, on a train home from work, or chilling on the sofa seat of your lounge like me, one thing united all – you could not help but get behind him and cheer for him. Back then, I wasn’t even a devoted fan of Ben Stokes, but that day changed something in me, and that was the moment I knew that I was going to root for this guy forever.
No target was truly safe while he stood tall. No game was genuinely over. His presence alone was enough for his opponents to second-guess their tactics. Perhaps the most fascinating thing is that he is a messiah for one side and the ultimate villain to the other. Just like two sides of the same coin.
A part of it is understandable, the frustration of rival fans is obvious – after all, he has snatched victory from the claws of his rivals more times than they would fancy recalling. But you will never find any cricket fan denying his greatness. He’ll always be the first name on their minds if they’re asked to have one player from the England side in their team.
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The Main Character of English Cricket
Ben has a way of making everyone watch his every move. Some call it ‘narcissistic’ behaviour. Others call it ‘main character syndrome’. Call it what you want, but he does have a charisma that commands your gaze. The game never revolved around him. The sleight of his hand always ended up turning the tide of fate in his favour. He never cared if the world was watching or not, but you just know you will. Ben was always the person who’d step up and lead even with a broken knee or hobble with a cramp in his hamstring. When there’s ice in his veins and fire in his eyes and his bulging jugular and temporal veins, you know that only one thing is going to happen now – this guy is here to win.
The Last Chapter
He signs off most unpredictably too. His last Instagram post back in March was after his cheekbone surgery, assuring fans that he was excited to be back for the Test summer. But just like that, on a random Sunday afternoon, he announces he’s calling it a day.
I won’t deny the fact that the moment “Ben Stokes to retire from international cricket” flashed on my screen, everything froze for a second. The first thing I did was message my best friend, who was just as perplexed as I was.
Unheralded, unforeseen and unpredicted.
But the next minute, I look up, and I see my most favourite sight ever. A riled-up Ben Stokes with a fire igniting his eyes, roaring like a lion with teammates swarmed around him because he had just taken a wicket – his last ever.
In the words of Joe Root “Classic Ben Stokes, isn’t it?”
Keeping the emotions aside, it actually is. Once again, no one knew the next card he was about to play and this time he drew the one which put a full stop to this 15-year-old journey.
Benjamin Andrew Stokes; A Legacy No One Can Undo
Stokes’ legacy will always be etched in the history books for the moments he made fans believe that they can hope. For the occasions when England fans could flaunt having him in their team as the greatest flex of all. For the moments when he did not just take a wicket but opened gateways to unimaginable victories. In the hearts of England fans, he will always remain a hero.
Stokesy, I wish we could stop time and stop you from going. I wish we could relive all those joyous memories we made with you as you soared high with your nation’s flag. We don’t know whether time heals us from the wound that we won’t have you as our skipper anymore. But one thing is sure – we cannot replace you. And a part of me doesn’t want you to be replaced because there’s no one like you. A part of me is still in denial. The ‘Ben Stokes retirement’ was a concept my brain never imagined it had to imagine.
But it has been a privilege watching you adorn your craft, your heroics and your refusal to surrender even when the odds were against you. Thank you for teaching us that ‘rather than fearing failure, we should embrace it’.
So yes, Stokesy, in the words of Taylor Swift, if I have children someday and if they point to the pictures, I will definitely tell them your name. I will tell them how the crowds went wild. Long live all the magic we made. We had the time of our lives with you.
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