In his most recent column for Sky Sports, Jason Roy reflects on Ben Stokes’ Headingley heroics, his DJ place afterwards and discusses his move to No 4 in the purchase and how he hopes it’ll win him a Tottenham Hotspur top…
Stokesy’s hundred at Headingley is 100 per cent the best innings I’ve ever seen.
Just like the World Cup final win’s craziness, it leaves one lost for words. It was simply ridiculous.
Getting bowled out to 67 in the first innings was disheartening and it was going to be challenging from there on out. We never thought we’d wind up in the position we were in about this fourth day of this Exam, let alone win it.
But there was lots of stuff said, like’while still Stokesy there, we’ve got an opportunity’.
I’d lost confidence – 73 runs still needed, with a wicket left? I had started packing my equipment up, and then Stokesy hit on a couple of sixes.
I thought,’that will be great to watch, regardless of what the result’, so I went and stood in the balcony, holding the back of a seat, with some of the lads round me.
I’m not normally a huge believer in this sort of stuff but, from there on, nobody moved.
Between chunks you’d have a little walk around however, it was straight back to my chair, once the bowler was back at the very top of the conduct.
By roughly as early as 40 runs everyone in the changing room started to have exactly the feeling. His influence and the attack he showed, hitting sixes at will, rotating .
Things went our way – we will not shy away from this – together with the close run-out that Nathan Lyon fumbled.
The lads moved from feeling on top of the world, with Stokesy beating against us then abruptly Leachy sprinting down to the track. A few of the guys collapsed!
Leachy can’t speak about it. I stated , I feel exactly the same way regarding the ball I fielded for the run-out in the World Cup final. It keeps me awake through the night.
However he had been incredible and deserves a enormous amount of the plaudits for his role in the win.
As for Stokesy, I do not understand how he had the power. He was in this frame of mind where nothing was going to stop him. He didn’t show much emotion all day – he concentrated on the task in hand in any respect times – and you may see the toll that occurred at the finish, he was completed!
Even us lads in the changing room were exhausted, going through of the emotions. He must have been running off pure adrenaline, also McDonald’s at the close of the day!
As I’d already started heading back home by that point, however, sitting on the outfield for a group was still an incredible moment, I missed out on this trip.
These are the times that you and the sport play for. There was talk, we took it ; it was a beautiful day, with the sun going down and it was dead silent, yet just a few hours ahead there was absolute carnage.
Leachy is the very humble bloke in the room that is changing however, after a few beers, we could spur on him to re-enact his game-tying run. I was in charge of the songs for a bit.
There was some hip hop, which is my kind of vibe, but it even slowed down and threw into a little Lewis Capaldi towards the ending.
Continuing on to the Old Trafford Test this past week, there’s the feeling around the group which the momentum is with us. Even the lads are fired up and believe anything can be possible.
But on a personal note, my kind has been very frustrating. I knew opening the batting in Test cricket was likely to be distinct to unmarried cricket, but I have found it difficult.
Coming into the Test scene off the back of this World Cup – feeling emotionally and emotionally drained – I have been trying to learn at work and work my method whilst enjoying out.
I have been heading out to bat, confronting some chunks and thinking,’this is functioning’ and I’ll find a good ball, or a push ball that I nick, and you need to begin all over again innings.
Individuals have made their decisions, saying’he’s not a Test participant’ and this type of stuff. I believe I am, and could be, and thus moving to down the order to this Test, emotionally it comforting. You receive time to ease in an innings.
That is not to say it is definitely going to be simple. This is the best attack I have ever faced; they have a set of tall bowlers, that operate upward at or close to 90mph. They are so persistent; they do not seem to miss their own areas.
But, as a unit, we are hungry. That is a excellent feeling, especially considering how deep we’re in the amount of cricket that’s been played already and the season.
The second innings at Headingley will be 100 percent our template going forward. In an perfect world, you’d want an additional batsman to go large with Stokesy, to push the large 400, 450 plus totals and it would be excellent if I could donate and receive a huge score in these two Tests.
Even if just to find out what I can get delivered to me Stokesy was displaying using the new shirt that he got sent by them following his hundred, but my small girl Everly is a Tottenham fan.
During their Champions League match against Manchester City earlier in the year, I recall that she was yelling and crying and crying, then I flicked the football on and abruptly she stopped.
I said, when Tottenham win this match, she’s a Tottenham fan. She did not cry the whole game and, in my view, their run into the final was down for her.
I’m not the only one this week 13, chomping at the bit. Jofra Archer is looking forward to building on his attempts at Headingley and excited.
He’s excited to get going, but that’s everyone. We don’t need Stokesy’s effort at Headingley to be for nothing and it will be when we lose this game.
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