Before the unbeaten 135, Ben Stokes’s Headingley rescue act in 2019 began with the ball. It remains the somewhat forgotten preamble, the EP of promise before the first album that went platinum.
Stokes was skilful in his 24.2-over spell in Australia’s second innings, but it was his ferocity that stood out, his unwillingness to step aside as an already significant lead grew into what should have been a match-winning one. The final figures were three for 56, tidy but hardly reflective of what he had produced. Marnus Labuschagne, who took the brunt of it, said later that it was one of the best spells he had faced.
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Australia’s then head coach, Justin Langer, remembered it too when speaking before the last Ashes. While still haunted by the final-day innings, what had come before was an even greater source of frustration. “I probably have more nightmares about his spell on day three of that game.”
For years, this has been our default image of Stokes: the all-action hero batting till the final ball, bowling with both fire and a grimace, the centre of our collective attention. Against Ireland at Lord’s, though, it went completely the other way, with Stokes not required with the bat and not bowling either. His one catch was at short fine leg. The man who occasionally becomes the game, hovered on its margins.
This is in keeping with his time as captain. Others have thrived under Stokes with the bat, reducing the requirement for him to don a cape. His attack has shown they can take 20 wickets without him, allowing him to rest his body. He is conducting the orchestra perfectly. But England still need him to put on the bowling boots this summer. Sure, there is his ability to prize one out when nothing else is working, the pitch is flat and heart becomes more important than line and length. It felt that way while Andy McBrine and Mark Adair piled them up on Saturday afternoon as Stokes turned to everyone but himself. He had only just returned to bowling for the first time in weeks earlier that morning, putting his body through the test in the warm-ups.
But it’s not just that. It feels vital that Stokes maintains all-round status because of what Australia have packed for the holidays: a way-too-tall baby-faced machine by the name of Cameron Green. If Australia felt any jealousy four years ago it would have been while watching Stokes, wishing they had one of those. Now they do.
These are early days for Green; 24 years of age and 20 Tests so far, the numbers to go with it not outrageous but more than solid. Crucially, the batting average trumps the bowling one, which means we are allowed to say “genuine” before all-rounder. The past six months have brought him a five-fer against South Africa, a first Test century in India and, as is modern life, a ton in the Indian Premier League. He already has one successful Ashes series behind him, too.
Green is an altogether different sight to Stokes: a more hulking presence with the bat, his bowling a touch more mechanical having been refined after back stress fractures halted his early development. There is a shyness to him, a sense that he would like to keep his genius hidden from the rest of the world. But one look at him – high-end pace to go with an ability to hit both the red and white – and the secret is out the bag.
If there is a caveat to throw in here, it is that he hasn’t played here before. The rhythms of Ashes cricket in Australia stand in stark contrast to those in England. But at the bare minimum, he will offer a breather to a top-class attack that lacks youth. Having made substantial scores on all three of his Test tours so far, he will probably find a way to do it on his fourth.
We are at the point where we turn a team game into a battle of one-on-ones. Broad versus Warner, Cummins versus Root, Robinson versus Labuschagne, all on the fight card. “This is where the Ashes will be decided,” comes the shout for each one, as if it really is that simple an equation. The winner in Stokes versus Green will not necessarily confirm the direction the urn travels in either, but it may well be the most enticing subplot of them all.
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