BEN STOKES
IT IS amazing how quickly things can turn around in sport, and this tour has certainly got a great chance of ending on a high after all the challenges we had at the start. Going into the last game knowing you can’t lose the series is sometimes a very dangerous place to be, just ask Australia.
At 2-1 up with one to play, we are in a brilliant position to ram home our advantage at the Wanderers, but we cannot let up for a second in our effort and intensity.
We’re going to have to find the attitude that we had going into that last game of the summer at the Oval, with everything still to play for.
We don’t want to leave South Africa having drawn the series, like Australia left the UK. We want to leave with a series win under our belt as the better team, rather than level pegging and honours even.
It was so good to see another couple of big performances from our younger players to get us into this position. Ollie Pope took the next step in his development and I thoroughly enjoyed batting for a long time with him, while Dom Bess should be so proud of how hard he has worked to get his first ‘five-for’.
Bessie is like a sponge. He just wants to know what he needs to do to get better. He came to me and asked for my opinion as someone who has stood at slip to the spinners quite a lot.
Both spin coach Jeetan Patel and I gave him a few ideas about putting more energy and action on the ball, bowling it into the surface, and challenging both edges of the bat.
He did just that and got rewards. All credit to him putting it into practice.
I felt at first slip I was so much more in the game, although if a nick did come my way in Port Elizabeth I probably would have dropped it! The less said about my catching, the better. It just goes to his for show that you never conquer cricket, it always finds a way to keep your feet on the ground.
After the win, we had Allan Lamb come into the dressing room and he gave a great speech to the whole team.
He was a bit shy at first coming into that space, but we invited him in and it was a special time to have him there for the celebrations. I went in to see my dad in hospital the day I got to
Jo’burg, and it is nice to be back here and able to go and see him and my mum every day again.
People may have noticed I gave my dad a shout-out in my celebrations after getting my hundred, relating to the finger he had amputated.
When I got back to the dressing room, it was the first time that I’d got a bit emotional about the whole situation really and it all came out.
I felt like I had to be strong for my family when it first happened, but I think walking off, it just got on top of me and I had a cry and I’m glad I did because I obviously needed it. I felt like a 10-year-old again.
It was more happy emotion than anything else with my dad on the mend and the team doing well and I needed the release. We’re all human.