Ben Stokes: The England captain was the man of the moment, and those moments are no more

Unlike the others, Stokes never produced a defining Ashes series – his performance against Australia came in isolation – but he was a better captain than Botham and Flintoff.

And the captaincy is Stokes’ second legacy. England often anoint future captains from long distances – they are usually specialist batsmen. Stokes was never tipped for leadership, only to reveal himself as a brilliant man-manager and innovative tactician.

With 24 wins in 44 matches in charge, Stokes has tasted victory more often than any captain since Brearley, widely regarded as England’s best.

Again, Stokes’ time in charge cannot be framed by numbers alone.

When he took over, English cricket was in complete disarray – one win in 17 Tests and drained by Covid restrictions.

Stokes, along with head coach Brendon McCullum, breathed life into the team and captured the public’s imagination.

At best, baseball challenged perceptions of how Test cricket was played. The cricket was exhilarating, the atmosphere intoxicating and the results – for a short while – sensational.

Stokes never had an Ashes moment. That could be in 2023, but his team was too concerned until it was too late. A win under last winter could have been the crowning glory of Stokes’ career, only for the tour to fall apart on his watch.

It was the aftermath of the tour that set Stokes’ exit in motion.

His career was not to end with a series loss to New Zealand at Trent Bridge. Restoring the statue at the Oval next summer was supposed to be a fairytale. Instead, what happened in Australia denied Stokes another crack at the Australians.

Stokes was considering ending his career before an ill-fated drinking session in a London nightclub – feelings had already run high during the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.

The incident, controversy and fallout from Rex Rooms, which resulted in Stokes’ sudden retirement, announced in the middle of a bowling spell, led to claims, conspiracies and speculation.

Perhaps, after all, the things that were said should have been taken at face value.

Neither McCullum nor director of cricket Rob Key were able to back Stokes as captain because they knew how close he was to the end, and McCullum said he was worried about Stokes because he was genuinely worried about Stokes.

Those at Durham saw nothing to worry about, because Stokes was happy there – he’s told us as much since then. When he turned to the England captain at Trent Bridge and said it was “for this week”, he meant it.