Ben Stokes spoke of his pride at playing for his country following a spell of match-winning brilliance that offered the latest reminder of what England will be missing come Thursday’s second Test at Lord’s.
The all-rounder powered Joe Root’s side to a 1-0 series lead over India at Edgbaston with a stirring three-wicket burst that included the prized pelt of Virat Kohli but now sits out the second instalment given his long-awaited trial for affray that begins in Bristol on Monday.
Interviewed by Sky after the 31-run win, sealed when he had Hardik Pandya caught at first slip, Stokes said: “I’m just so proud to be a part of this group and playing for England. We’ll take a lot of confidence from winning into the rest of this series.”
On the removal of Kohli, lbw for 51, he said: “He played brilliantly in the first innings [scoring 149] and we were just playing for the swing when I got him there. We weren’t sure what to expect today, we just knew we had to get five wickets.
“We’ve had a lot of stick recently so to beat a team like India will hopefully close some mouths.”
Victory in the 1,000th Test played by England represents the highlight of Joe Root’s 18 months in charge and the captain praised Stokes for putting his court case to one side during the match; the challenge now is for others to step up in his absence.
Root said: “Stokes has gone about things exactly how he has in every other game. And I don’t see that ever changing. When he turns up to practice or puts on an England shirt he’s so dedicated to this group of players and whatever happens, going forward he’s going to be a big part of this dressing room.”
How England replace Stokes remains to be seen with Root stating he will not discuss the next squad with the selectors until the emotion of the first Test has passed. Chris Woakes, fit again after quad and knee injuries, should receive the call for Thursday’s Test at Lord’s, while Dawid Malan, fresh from exorcising some of his demons at second slip by holding the first catch of England’s final victory push, could yet earn a reprieve to avoid further disruption.
One player who also demonstrated his all-round prowess was Sam Curran, who, after five wickets in the Test and a game-shifting 63 in England’s second innings, was duly named man of the match in his second appearance; little wonder Root sees shades of his talisman in the 20-year-old.
The England captain said: “Whenever you watch him operate on the field he has this desire and steeliness within him and, similar to Ben, he wants to be involved in the big occasions – that obviously suits Test cricket.
“To come into his second Test match under pressure and against the No 1 team in the world and play like that … it’s very exciting for us as a side. That should fill him with huge confidence for the rest of this series.”
Curran shared his admiration for Stokes’s passion, something he is looking to emulate, and on his second-innings heroics with the bat – a show of serious chutzpah that gave England a defendable lead – he said: “I was trying not to think about the occasion. I just wanted to play my natural game, like I have been doing for Surrey.
“I’m the type of person who just tries to do that and not worry about what people think – and I’m lucky enough a few balls came out of the middle..”
Kohli lamented his team’s batting – having scored 200 of their 436 runs in his two innings the India captain was well within his rights to do so – and was impressed by England’s spirit in a rollercoaster of a Test match.
He said: “England were relentless and they made us work very hard for our runs. Our shot selection could have been better. We definitely need to apply ourselves better with the bat, but England came back superbly. We need to think how to regroup.”
