He’s miracle man like Windies legend Sir Gary
incredible. And with the ball, you just know that he has that priceless ability to make things happen.
“Look at that Test at Headingley against Australia last summer.
“Everyone remembers the innings he played but he took three important wickets in Australia’s second innings too.
“That’s the impact he can have. He can look innocuous and then ‘bang’ – he takes a crucial wicket and changes the game.
“It’s the sort of thing that Ian Botham did for England throughout his career and now Ben has shown that he has that same ability.
“Ben Stokes is always in the game.” And thank goodness he is because there have been times in the past 18 months when England would have been completely lost without him.
Stokes averages almost 55 with the bat since the start of 2019, which puts him on a par with the likes of Virat Kohli and only marginally behind Steve Smith. No other England batsman comes close to matching those figures over the same period.
He had also taken 41 wickets with the ball before the current match in Manchester.
Stokes is batting at four for England in this Test, with a reduced role with the ball.
And it’s a stance he may have to take more often as
England look to maximise contributions from the 29-year-old talisman.
“We need to manage his workload, we don’t want him to be in a position where he can only operate at 80 or 90 per cent,” added Lewis.
“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime cricketer and England need to make sure he is around for as long as possible.”