‘You can only judge a cricketer in relation to what he did compared to others of his time’ Alan Gibson, The Cricket Captains of England, 1877-1979 October, 2016. The Roundhouse, north London, for the PCA’s post-season tear-up. Ben Stokes, 26, is the biggest star in the building. His year had kicked off at Cape Town with an innings of 11 sixes and 30 fours across five hours of unimaginable violence. He is not merely the best all-round cricketer in the country, but is edging into the conversation with the all-timers.
That night, Stokes spends most of his time outside the venue, dickie bow loose, a drink on, chatting away to all who pass by. The official events in the auditorium hold little interest. He prefers to be where the action is,…