Big Ben’s timing is just right

WATCHING Ben Stokes go about his business at the Oval yesterday, we saw him take another big step forward in his career.

People think Stokes is a dasher. An aggressive biffer of a cricket ball who can only smash the ball to all parts – like he did for his double hundred at Cape Town or his first hundred in Perth.

Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly loved watching both of those innings – and the way he went to his century yesterday with a six (above).

And I can’t wait to see the next time that he gets the chance to show off that side again, but Test cricket is not that easy.

It doesn’t matter how good you are, there are times when you can’t go 100mph.

The best players spot those moments and react accordingly.

That is what we saw from Stokes, who showed real maturity without taking undue risks to ensure he got England up to the sort of total they could be happy with.

It said to me that he is growing into his role as vice-captain and taking more responsibility for how the team develops.

The way he paced his knock was so good to see.

From the respect he gave the second new ball to the way he got after the spinner at the back end of the innings, it was smart cricket.

It is part of England’s learning curve to know when to press the accelerator and when to hold back a touch and not give it away.

We’ve seen them struggle to get that tempo right in the past couple of years. But this innings from Stokes shows that they are on the right road.