ENG vs IND, 4th Test: Fifer and Century - Vintage Ben Stokes Underlines All-Round Value in Crucial Match

Ben Stokes’s century and five-wicket haul powered England to a dominant position in the 4th Test vs India. His leadership and all-round brilliance helped secure a massive first-innings lead, reigniting England’s hopes of sealing the series.

England captain Ben Stokes might have delighted English cricket fans with his all–round performance, a five-wicket haul and 141-run knock in the first innings of the ongoing fourth Test against Team India at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Stokes has been one of the greatest all-rounders England has ever produced, but his brilliance in Manchester was a commanding display of leadership, resilience, and match awareness as he led the hosts to a commanding position with a total of 669 and a massive 311-run lead in the first innings, aiming to put India under pressure early in their second innings batting.

Stokes, as an England captain, not as a player, played a pivotal role in seizing the momentum right from the start of the opening day of the ongoing Manchester Test by setting up attacking fielding placements, rotating his bowlers smartly, and at the same time leading the team from the front with his all-round brilliance, which was not on display in the last three Tests of the ongoing series.

Ben Stokes takes responsibility as captain and player

Ben Stokes understood his responsibility not just as a captain but as a player, rising to the occasion when he was needed the most by his team. The fate of the ongoing series hangs in the balance, with England 2-1 over India, the 33-year-old delivered a defining performance that not only revived his form but also reignited England’s hopes of taking an unassailable series lead heading into the Oval Test.

Stokes’s Player of the Match performance in the Lord’s Test, where he bowled 24 overs to take three wickets while conceding 48 in the second innings to help England bundle out India for 170 and seal a thrilling 22-run victory, was a reminder of his knack for delivering under pressure.

In the first innings of the Manchester Test, Ben Stokes was quite tactical with his captaincy, especially with field placements and rotating his bowlers, but his decision to bring himself into the attack and deliver when he was needed the most. He did it. Stokes picked five wickets while conceding 72 runs in his spell of 24 overs to bundle out India for 358.

Ben Stokes registered his five-wicket haul for the first time since 2017 in his Test career. The England captain and all-rounder’s performance in the Lord’s Test was seen as a spark, but his showing in Manchester cemented his resurgence, showcasing that when the stakes are high, he can shift the course of the match either with ball or bat or both.

Batter in Ben Stokes is back

In the first three Tests of the ongoing series against England, the discussion was around the batter Ben Stokes going missing, with scores read - 20, 33, 0, 33, 44, and 33 in six innings, raising questions about his consistency and ability to anchor the middle-order. Since November 2024, Stokes has not scored a single fifty, and there were questions vintage batter whether Ben Stokes was fading.

However, Ben Stokes gave appropriate answers to the questions by playing a brilliant innings of 141 off 198 balls, including 11 fours and 3 sixes. On Day 3, while batting on 66, Stokes had to walk off the field after apparently being in discomfort due to cramps. However, he walked out to bat after Jamie Smith’s dismissal at 515/6.

Stokes resumed his first innings batting on 77 and completed his 14th Test century of his career in the 145th over. The England captain did not show any signs of slowing down as he carried on his innings after completing a century before his stay at the crease was ended by Ravindra Jadeja.

Ben Stokes registered his first Test century since June 2023 against Australia at Lord’s. In the next 35 innings, the England captain had failed to reach triple figures, raising his concerns as a reliable middle-order batter.

However, Stokes finally managed to Test century with a crucial knock when England desperately needed solidity in the middle order. His 150-run stand for the fifth wicket with Joe Root, who scored 150 off 248 balls, steadied England’s innings at a critical juncture, arresting the collapse and shifting the momentum back in the hosts' favour after a few setbacks with the dismissals of Ollie Pope (71) and Harry Brook (9).

Ben Stokes joins the elite list with a fifter and century at Old Trafford

With a fifer and a century, Ben Stokes has not only shifted the momentum in England’s favour but also found himself a place in the elite list. Stokes became the first England captain and the fifth after Imran Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad, Gary Sober, and Denis Aktinson to take five wickets and score a century in a Test match.

Ben Stokes has also completed 7000 Test runs, a day after completing 11,000 runs in his international career. With 7000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests, Stokes became the third all-rounder Jacques Kallis and Gary Sobers, to achieve this rare double, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of Test cricket.

Additionally, Stokes became the fifth batter after Alastair Cook, Denis Compton, Gordon Greenidge, and Alec Stewart to score three or more Test centuries at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Last but not least, Ben Stokes joined Graham Gooch and Peter May in the elite list of England captains to score multiple centuries in Manchester.