Nearly a year after managing a miracle against Australia at Headingly, Ben Stokes once again showed his full array of skills in Manchester this week to help England to a crucial win in the second Test against West Indies.
After batting carefully in the first innings to compile a patient 176 off 356 balls, the New Zealand-born all-rounder then clubbed 78 off 57 balls on the final morning of the match, scoring quickly enough for the hosts to push for a last-minute victory.
In between, he also bowled with venom – despite being handed an old ball – bouncing the Caribbean batsmen and swinging the momentum of the game in his team’s favour. On the final day, he bowled with an ageing ball again and picked up another two wickets, despite spending most of the match on the pitch.
This complete athletic performance reminded me of some of the achievements of another famous all-rounder from years past, Keith Miller.
The man they called ‘Nugget’ played his last Test match for Australia in 1956 but his career remains one of the benchmarks for the modern all-rounder.
There are a few obvious similarities between the players. Both are characterised by classic batting techniques but can hit with incredible power when required. In addition, both are genuinely quick bowlers, rather than just being medium-pace trundlers. Add to that, both are agile in the field and superb catchers.
But do the similarities end there?
Keith Miller is Australia’s greatest ever all-rounder. (Photo by Topical Press/Getty Images)
I recently read Roland Perry’s book Miller’s Luck, which takes a detailed look at the man’s unique life. It’s fair to say Miller packed a fair bit in, ranging from wartime service in the RAAF, to playing alongside Don Bradman as part of the Invincibles, to nearly captaining his country.
On the field, he was known for his back-to-the-wall batting performances as well as terrifying bowling spells.
Not everything about his cavalier lifestyle would sit well with our modern sensitivities. That’s similar to Stokes’ public image too, I suppose.
Despite his recent heroics on the pitch, I still struggle to look past that eventful night in Bristol in 2017 when Stokes was caught on camera throwing punches in a late-night brawl.
I thought at the time that he should never play international cricket again. But, rightly or wrongly, his ban has been served and Stokes is now dominating both Test and limited-overs cricket.
To his credit, instead of letting the controversy weigh him down, Stokes has pressed on to forge a stunning career – and he is still only 29.
He has always been a genuine batsman, rather than just a middle-order option, but since the start of 2019 Stokes’ batting average has been over 50. He has also surpassed 150 Test wickets recently too. That’s not to mention his unforgettable heroics at last year’s World Cup.
Ben Stokes of England (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Both Miller and Stokes are once-in-a-generation talents. Both possess an ability to turn a match on its head, thanks to their incredible skill level in both disciplines. Both have a competitive streak that allows them to call upon these skills even when they must be battling exhaustion.
Like Miller, Stokes will be a player that fans will still be talking about in half a century’s time. In fact, he could lay down one of the great Test careers because the stage is set for him.
As he got older, Miller was able to contribute less as a batsmen as his heroic bowling exploits pushed him to his physical limit. Stokes is unlikely to suffer the same problem. England’s bowling unit is pretty deep – even if James Anderson and Stuart Broad may soon depart – and so Stokes should be able to continue to play the role that he has carved out for himself.
Namely, batting with style and power for long stints, before charging in with the ball when his team needs something special.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
DaveJ ... that is because Kallis bowls more overs per test. Stokes takes a wicket every 57 balls, Kallis 69.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Peter85 ... there is nothing wrong with averaging 43 away from home ... most batsmen would settle for averaging that overall ... if only Warner averaged 43 away from home .... Also I don't have a problem with a batsman averaging 71 at home.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
max power .... Stokes’s strike rate with the ball is a wicket every 57 balls compared to Kallis 69. Kallis may average 17 runs more per innings with the bat, but he was more in the Geoff Boycott mould and could never play an innings anywhere near as dazzling as some of Stokes’s knocks, such as at Headingly last year. Sobers was one of the greatest batsman ever but he would not get picked purely on his bowling in any remotely strong side. If he was considered the 3rd best ‘pace’ bowler for the west indies of his time, that is more an indication of the lack of depth they had in the 1960s compared with the 70s and 80s … basically they had Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith at the start of the 60s and then Hall and Andy Gilchrist at the end of the 60s. They say Sobers could bowl bouncers but so could Mark and Steve Waugh, and Mark, like Sobers, could also bowl spin. Mark Waugh’s strike rate of a wicket every 84 balls is superior to Sobers 91. It does seem Sobers was quite an economical bowler, barely 2 runs per (6 ball) over, but overall scoring rates were nowhere near as quick back then. Batsmen like Sobers himself excepted, I am sure it didn’t come to be known as the doldrums of the 60s for nothing.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Watching Stokes in full cry makes me think that must have been how Sobers batted, except Sobers averaged 20 more runs per innings and scored centuries twice as frequently. Stokes is a much more penetrative bowler, taking a wicket every 57 balls to Sobers 91, although their averages are similar, but across the board scoring rates are higher these days.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Andre, I think with Archer, much depends on how Root uses him, which in turn relies on things like the rest of the attack continuing to improve so they can take over the stock bowler role, which Archer seems to have been forced into after the Ashes. The two guys most likely to take wickets in the English attack in Australia are Stokes & Archer, therefore they should be used in short sharp spells, with what every combination Curren/Broad/Anderson/Woakes/Bess being used to contain and build pressure at the other end. If one of these guys snares a few wickets, that's a bonus IMO, but I'd have thought if either Archer or Stokes bowls more than 15 - 17 overs each in a 90 over day, they're being badly used
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
Thanks for crunching the numbers Peter85! The point I was trying to make ... and which pops up on here every now and then... was that averages alone don't tell the story of whether one player is better than another. Miller's biography certainly mentions a number of times he put in heroic, selfless efforts with bat or ball - which didn't pay much attention to his averages, but which may well have swung a match. With Stokes I think it is fair to say already that he has the ability to win a game through a one-off performance - albeit mainly with bat in hand at the moment. Let's see if he manages that with the ball too in the remainder of this series.
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
Good to hear from you Paul. It's a good point about England's bowling stocks - none are truly in the class of Anderson and Broad ... yet. I do believe that Archer has what it takes to be a consistent bowler for England for a considerable period of time. But, I guess only time will tell if batsmen work him out. I agree that this will have some bearing on whether Stokes can really focus on his batting.
Peter85
Roar Rookie
In that last 18 month time period he played 7 home games and 9 away games. 71/30 at home, 43/28 away. So it would seem the batting is better at home and the bowling remains consistent. If anything, this is just a purple patch of a year, with the 2019 / 2020 splits being: 2019: 11 games 46/35 2020: 5 games 77/20
Save_the_Earth
Roar Rookie
isn't he a home track bully. All the recent world cup exploits, headingley heroics and the test heroics yesterday are all at Home.
Peter85
Roar Rookie
Current form - best all-rounder since Kallis (2019-2020 averages are 55/29 over 16 matches) Up until last 18 months - borderline test player picked as all rounder (2013-2018 averages are 34/33 over 49 matches) Career - solid all-rounder (39/32 over 65 matches) Right now he would be in most peoples top 5 test players, I would have Smith, Kholi, Stokes, Cummins, Holder. Lets see if he is consistent enough for another 4 years to get his numbers into the historically significant all-rounder discussion.
danwain
Roar Rookie
Only player in the England team that scares me, genius of a player
matth
Roar Guru
To me he will be in the Imran Khan mode by the end. Maybe not quite as good a bowler, but similar stats as a batsman. Imran averaged over 50 with the bat in his last 5 years or so. Sobers and Kallis are more batting greats who also bowled quite well.
Paul
Roar Guru
According to the speed gun, both he and Broad bowled at least one delivery at 88mph, which is up there. Mind you, I'm not real sure how accurate these speed guns are. They seem to make home based bowlers fast and visiting bowlers slow!
Paul
Roar Guru
so would Langer! And Paine!
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Botham’s reputation in English cricketing memory rests on his performances in his early years. When he had played the same number of Tests as Stokes he was a world class bowler averaging 25 while batting at 37. He tapered off on both counts, which I don’t expect Stokes to do with his batting. I believe Stokes is well ahead of Flintoff as a batsman.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
With Stokes I think you are looking at a mini-Jaques Kallis or Gary Sobers Similar bowling- probably better than Kallis, takes more wickets per Test. Not in the same batting class but someone whose batting keeps improving and could end up with a mid-40s average. He’s not quite a Keith Miller who commanded a place as batsman or bowler, as Sobers, Imran and Botham did on occasion. Not in Miller’s league as a bowler. Wouldn’t have said he was genuinely fast, but he is no slouch.
JGK
Roar Guru
I’d have him in my team!
max power
Guest
Keith Miller Bat 37 Ball 23 (14) Ben Stokes Bat 38 ball 32 (6) Stokes isnt in the class of Imran, Hadlee, Dev, Sobers, Kallis . his figures suggest he is not even a test quality bat or bowl.
Paul
Roar Guru
I agree Stokes has had a terrific 12 months in Test cricket and is in career-best form. That said, I think he's got a very long way to go to match it with Miller, certainly with the ball and I think from here on he's going to struggle with his bowling. He's already got issues with his knees and with England likely to lose Broad & Anderson sometime in the next 2 years, the pressure will be on him to perform, especially overseas. Yes England has plenty of bowling options but are they top quality? Curran, Woakes & Wood are good support bowlers, while Archer has struggled since the Ashes. Who of this group are likely to 4 or 5 wickets regularly? I think his bowling will have to taper off, if they want a fit Stokes to bat 5. If they try and keep his workload to what it is now, he'll probably played injured more times than he'll play fit. He might end up with beter batting figures than Nugget, but a better all-rounder?