<\/p>\n
B<\/span>en Stokes has been a magnificent player for England, and leaves a legacy of individual brilliance and inspirational leadership. However you want to judge him, whether it is the quality\u00a0of his bowling, his batting and his fielding, his sometimes heroic determination, or the character that makes him uniquely able to connect with teammates and with the public, he is among the very best.<\/p>\n The way he became such an important figure in English cricket, and the fact that he is a seam\u2011bowling all-rounder, means he will always be compared with Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, but unlike them he excelled also at captaincy. He is a man of great empathy, which makes him unusually good with young players, at making them feel comfortable in\u00a0an environment that can be difficult to enter.<\/p>\n The statistics will tell only part of the story of his international career: his contribution has been so much more than numbers. It is the personality of the man, the way he plays the game, the way he talks about it, and the massive moments of which he has been at the heart.<\/p>\n The summer of 2019 sticks out as the pinnacle of his career. In the World Cup final at Lord\u2019s he showed himself to be such an adaptable player. He is known for his shot play but to bat with such intelligence, to adapt his talent to the occasion and for the team, was brilliant. That England won that World Cup was hugely down to that effort, on a difficult wicket and with the pressure of chasing.<\/p>\n Then at Headingley in the Ashes six weeks later, in the greatest format and against England\u2019s greatest rivals, he came up with another incredible innings. He showed such concentration, a good defence and real stubbornness as he built the foundations before going on to play some remarkable shots, particularly during that last\u2011wicket stand of 76 with Jack Leach, who famously contributed a solitary run. It was a monumental effort that demonstrated so much heart and skill and created so much drama.<\/p>\n