Ben Stokes and the Patron Saint of Lost Causes
England win extraordinary Hyderabad Test Match.
England 246 all out and 420 all out
India 436 all out and 202 all out
England win by 28 runs
India “won” the opening day’s play and dominated the second day’s play to such an extent that their victory seemed assured by the close of play. England, with barely a positive stride forward or session victory under their belts grabbed the honours in the opening session of day 3 before being rocked back firmly into their defeated place yesterday afternoon and still trailing on first innings and with only 5 second innings wickets in hand, the spectre of defeat loomed once more on a Hyderabad horizon. To mix my sporting metaphors, England needed snookers.
Ollie Pope ignored the chaos unfolding all around him to score a Test Match century loudly acclaimed by sages of this great game to be one of THE greatest ever by a visiting batsman in India, England had an unlikely lead, a lead they would extend by a further 104 runs this morning to turn around certain defeat into a second innings run chase for India of 231 and against all conceivable cricketing odds, England triumphed by 28 runs in a quite extraordinary Test Match for the ages and yet another reason for the longevity of this, the grandest of all games, and why I adore it so.
Quixotically, I’m not a passionate fan of the England cricket team, but hear me out. For four decades I’ve been obsessively in love with the game of cricket, much of which is evidenced within my first book on the grand old game “Ashes to Ashes”. The book became a reality through the vagaries of luck, fate, frustration and chance as well as my desire to write about a sport I excelled in as a younger man and as a spectator, I have a faintly ridiculous lifelong romantic love for. 5 days. A sporting contest that often changes with the tides of a stormy ocean. It has its own vernacular, its own pace, oddities, foibles, villains becoming heroes, today’s victors becoming tomorrow’s utterly defeated and dejected losers. Some if not all of this heady sporting nonsense was evidenced here in Hyderabad.
I want England to win yes, but I LOVE the game of Test Match cricket far more than cheering on a singular team or indeed the country of my birth. This may seem strange to many of you but I revel in being a contrarian as much as I eagerly await the shrill of an alarm clock at 3.30am as I know that my first cup of the tea of the day will coincide with being transported to the sunshine of Mumbai or Hyderabad, Sydney or Karachi, Barbados or Brisbane. The above named book was largely as a result of battling my mental health demons following the horrendous effects of lockdown, to allow myself to enjoy a life’s sporting pleasure and of course, a reason for another of life’s few remaining untainted pleasures: writing.
So I followed the England team’s fortunes in the 2021/2022 Ashes debacle in Australia and their ill fated and embarrassing defeat in the West Indies soon after that led to a changing of the guard with a new coach, a new captain and, perhaps more headline grabbing, a change in the ethos to which this England team were now going to play Test Match cricket. A historic win in Pakistan soon followed before the year of 2023 started with an incredibly exciting drawn series in New Zealand before ending with one of the greatest Ashes series ever seen that England drew, could have lost, and should have won. And if that isn’t confusing enough for you it was also construed as being a “winning draw” as Ben Stokes’ men clambered from the canvas once more to punch their Australian visitors on the nose who in fear of defeat were now thankful for the Manchester rain that fell in buckets and, winning draw or not, they retained the precious Ashes urn.
A winning draw? All part of this great game’s strangely alluring lexicon.
Trust me, you’ll come to love it too.
So I shouldn’t have doubted Ben Stokes’ England team this week or for that matter, the next 6 weeks or so of this tour of India. But visiting teams simply don’t win Test Matches on Indian soil let alone a team missing Harry Brook, their front line spin bowler picking up a mid-match injury, their second spin bowler being a 19 year old leg spin bowling prodigy, their third making his Test Match debut and their singular fast bowler largely absent from bowling duties on a wicket not conducive to his sheer pace and infectious enthusiasm but perfect for the part-time bowling and “Golden Arm” of Joe Root, a reluctant and humble bowling hero if ever there was one.
But this Ben Stokes team did win, and a thoroughly deserved win for the ages it was too.
"Ashes to Ashes" - Available via Amazon
"The Spirit of Cricket" - Available via Amazon
No session by session breakdown of events here today. The previous three days of this Test Match were covered in this fashion and normal service will resume with the first day of the second Test Match in Visakhapatnam in five days time. Rather, let us revel in the spectacular innings of Ollie Pope who added a further 48 runs today to his stupendous total of 148 yesterday, and a match saving innings that has quickly become a match winning one. The debut of Tom Hartley who, smashed to all parts of Hyderabad in the first innings, spun his way to seven Indian wickets today, innings figures of 7–62, match figures of 9–193 and a crucial 34 runs with the bat today too in support of Ollie Pope and a combined 57 runs across the entire Test Match. 7–62 represents the fourth best bowling figures on debut in India in the entire history of this grandest of all games. 19 year old Rehan Ahmed contributed 41 runs with the bat as well as 2 first innings wickets with his prodigious leg-spin bowling. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett set the table as well as the tone for the innings from their opening positions, Joe Root and his 5 match wickets at the cost of just 120 runs were crucial beyond words and, one minor blemish apart, Ben Foakes was outstanding with the wicket-keeping gloves whilst sharing an ultra-valuable second innings batting partnership with “Man of the Match”, Ollie Pope.
All of these English cricketing heroes were led by the Patron Saint of lost causes Ben Stokes, and a man who described today’s victory as the “greatest triumph since I became captain” and who would dare argue with him? To be 190 runs behind on first innings and five wickets away from a thunderously comprehensive defeat and then come back to win from being outplayed for two days is some achievement indeed. To do so in India and against a team tabling over 600 runs would be an incredible win with a first choice, fully fit, starting XI. But to do so with crucial star players absent, your talismanic number one spin bowler injured, a 19 year old in the fledgling years of a mighty cricket career ahead of him, a debutant and relying on Joe Root twirling his “Golden Arm” to majestic effect is indeed his greatest triumph to date and so emblematic of the revolutionary air he and Brendon McCullum breathe into this England team.
I was a fool to even doubt them.
See you in Visakhapatnam!
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Peace to you all.