He looked as though he’d never been away

IT WAs as if Ben stokes had never been away from the England team. From the moment he arrived here in New Zealand there has been nothing different about him or the attitude towards him from his team- mates. And he could easily have inspired a thrilling win in his comeback match.

stokes has certainly not been hiding away. I have seen him each morning in the place I have breakfast in Hamilton and he’s played a bit of golf. There has been no ‘bat cave’ at the hotel like Ian Botham had all those years ago when he found himself under an unwelcome spotlight — and quite right too. There is no need for stokes to cocoon himself away.

It has helped Ben starting off in this sleepy part of New Zealand. Hamilton is very quiet and calm and the crowd at seddon Park for the first one- day international was pretty subdued yesterday.

But there was still a decent ovation for stokes when he came out and it must have helped that there were a decent number of England supporters here, too.

stokes looks lean, trim and fit. He has clearly worked very hard on his fitness while he’s been away and the only difference I could see was that he no longer has a bat sponsor. The England players are very happy to have him back. stokes is a hugely popular member of this side and the team dynamic suffered without him. There was a lack of character and experience in the T20 series, for instance.

It will take time for stokes to rediscover his batting touch — you only had to see Jonny Bairstow’s innings to appreciate that, and he’s only been away a few weeks — as you can’t just pick up a bat and be at your best again. Only Joe Root seems able to do that.

stokes will be disappointed to have got out to a bit of bounce from the left-arm spin of Mitchell santner so early in his innings, but a decent catch helped him settle back and he then varied his pace intelligently when he bowled.

It was significant that Eoin Morgan brought him back after his initial four-over spell that was meant to be his limit in his first game back. The skipper needed wickets, so he turned to his main man and he did not disappoint.

stokes has not lost any of his passion because he was angry with himself for bowling poorly and going for 11 in his fifth over — and with Moeen Ali for conceding a single in the field off the last ball. That anger worked to England’s advantage because all the fielders came in on the one during stokes’s next over, causing Tom Latham to try to go over the top. Instead he found Root, stokes had his first wicket and the game was back in the balance.

Two wickets in two overs later — one of them to stokes — and England were on top. It was not to end in a win but it was so nearly a fairy- tale return.

Above all, stokes would have just wanted to get a game for England under his belt.

This is what he does. He’s an all-action cricketer. And this is probably the first day he has been able to put the incident in Bristol to the back of his mind and get on with his job.

There would have been no thought about asking Morgan to protect him, to avoid him fielding on the boundary or anything like that.

Yes, people are split over whether he should be here before his trial, but the lad is just delighted to be playing for his country again. He was as whole-hearted as ever and can only get better.