Stokes Is A Destiny Man Who Loomed Over Lord's Like Angel Of The North

England's captain dominated every aspect of an epic fifth day and now he can dream of the ultimate rewards

- Barney Ronay

“I’m not tired. I’m not tired. I’m not tired.” Really, Ben? Really? Well, you’re pretty much on your own in that case old boy, after a day where simply watching Ben Stokes being Ben Stokes felt like a full contact sport, psychodrama, soap opera, and in its stickiest moments like a man engaged in an act of public self-medication by Test cricket.

This fifth day at Lord’s was entirely dominated by Stokes, who loomed over it like the angel of the north, arms outspread, another note in his own extraordinary sporting life. It was shortly after midday that Stokes came running through at the end of his eighth successive over from the Nursery End to talk to the batter Nitish Kumar Reddy, to tell him, specially, that he wasn’t tired – hyped and pumped, eyes boggled, drawing boos from the largely Indian crowd.

India were 101 for seven at that point and losing the game at a steady stagger. As Stokes wheeled in, drop-in tresses flowing behind him (colour range: Nordic God), it seemed likely the defining image of the day would be that beautifully desiccated fifth-day pitch in midday sunlight, scratched, marked, bruised, as weathered and handsome as Stokes himself.