Ben Stokes, the flawed English idol

CHENNAI: Heroes are supposed to be flawless. Villains, on the other hand, are supposed to be full of flaws. Now, the question is, does life have to be in the binary?

If so, then Ben Stokes doesn’t fit into the definition of a hero, and he never pretended to fit in it either. The 35-year-old, who called it quits from international cricket on Sunday, always occupied the space most people hesitate to be in – grey. 

For the past four years, Stokes was viewed as the English idol, not necessarily because of his ability to lead the side, but also because of his ability to change the way England played its cricket — attacking and exciting. On the field, he was a man who put his entire body on the line for his team, game in and game out, and led the Three Lions to play an attacking brand of cricket. 

As a captain, Stokes was at the epicentre of all things, with 2,301 runs, averaging 31.95 with the bat, and picking up 84 wickets at an average of 27.46. But numbers seldom mean anything to Stokes because the legacy he leaves behind is one built upon a defiant, bold, courageous, and never-say-die attitude.

You knew that as long as Stokes was there, England was always in for a bloody good fight. Cast your mind back to the 2019 Ashes clash at Headingley, where single-handedly Stokes changed the course of the game, and perhaps was the reason why England didn’t lose the home Ashes. He stitched up a 76-run partnership with Jack Leach, where the No 11 scored just the one run.

Or the World Cup final, where, if not him, who? Or those moments when he played with a body beyond mendable, bowling those marathon spells when he would give up any point. But throughout all of these points, he always had the negative side out there; he crossed certain lines out there on the field.

More recently, Stokes, despite being 35, was involved in another nightclub incident, after which the head coach, Brendon McCullum, went on to say he was “worried and concerned” for him. Legends are often polished by time, and in Stokes' case, it may never be the situation. Bazball was built upon trust, following certain protocols, which Stokes himself destroyed.

Maybe, Stokes was never the flawless hero that England imagined but a deeply flawed one who stood up whenever his side needed him the most. Perhaps, that’s why a lot of people resonated with him, he is like any one of us, equal parts of good and bad.

Heroes don’t necessarily have to always be good because ‘Life isn't black and white. It's a million grey areas, don't you think?” Ridley Scott wasn’t wrong, after all.