Ben Stokes: A legend in the making

Over the ages, every cricket nation has tried to find parallels of their own past greats, and faltered more often than not. Australia never found their next Shane Warne, and West Indies still try to trace shades of Brian Lara whenever a left-hander with a high backlift plays an expansive offdrive. Virat Kohli might have quenched India's thirst for the next Sachin Tendulkar but the Kapil Dev prototype remains elusive.
England, for more than two decades, were waiting for the arrival of a new-age Ian Botham who would lend the team that cutting edge. After a couple of misses in the form of Chris Lewis and Freddie Flintoff, they have found one in Ben Stokes.

Stokes' patient 176 and blazing 78, coupled with the three wickets that he took against West Indies in the second Test, not only made him the world's No. 1 allrounder surpassing Jason Holder, it also won England the match at Old Trafford on Sunday. It was another reminder of Stokes' quality. He is probably on his way to gaining legend status, much like his famed predecessor Botham.
Stokes' ability to win matches --- though more often with the bat --- is well-documented. His unbeaten 84 in the World Cup final was the cornerstone of England's triumph against New Zealand. Who can forget Stokes' 135* and an unbeaten 76-run last-wicket stand with Jack Leach that brought England an unbelievable win last year in the third Ashes Test at Headingley? That performance had immediately brought up references of a similar Botham performance in 1981 at the same venue against Australia, and a year down the line in the bio bubble of Old Trafford, we can listen to the echoes again.

"As far as I am concerned, Stokes is better than Botham. As a batsman, on current form, Stokes is as good as Kohli, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. On the bowling front, Beefy was ahead, but Stokes has the ability to make something happen when the team needs the most," former England player Allan Lamb, a teammate of Botham, told TOI.
The 29-year-old Stokes had his share of controversies in 2018. He was out of the team following a bar brawl in Bristol and it needed immense belief in his abilities on the part of captain Joe Root, and a final acquittal from the court, for the allrounder to make a comeback. Since that return against India, we have seen Stokes go from strength to strength in all three formats.
"Greatness is the ability to make it count when the chips are down. That's where Ben stands out and that's why I believe he will be one of the all-time greats before he retires," Lamb said, putting things in perspective.