After all, it’s nearly a decade since Stokes was involved in those shocking events outside a Bristol nightclub in September 2017. Nothing that has come to pass for the England team – in Wellington, Noosa or now Chelsea – comes close to the awful, existential circumstances that he found himself on that grim night.
Nothing that the Cricket Regulator can throw – and has thrown – at the Test team’s miscreants in recent months comes close to the full machinations of the Crown Prosecution Service. It could be argued that Stokes has been foolish for allowing himself to return to a situation that could be compromised by alcohol. And yet, that’s surely right at the heart of his clear and ongoing grievance with the ECB.
According to eyewitness reports, Stokes had been quietly socialising with his rugby counterpart, Maro Itoje, earlier in the evening – an image that gives the impression of adults very much being in the room. Besides, the exclusive Rex Rooms in Chelsea are hardly a vibes match for that infamous Mbargo dive-bar in Bristol. At the age of 35, in the aftermath of a Test victory, and with a lived experience that few in the sport could hope to understand, if his night out happened to be a quiet protest at the performative nature of the ECB’s curfew, then so be it. Such are the issues he doubtless brought to the table during a crisis meeting with his advisors on Wednesday.
And so, it’s over to Root to save the day – or, at least, to postpone the day of reckoning. There is a world of difference between Brook – England’s white-ball captain, official Test vice-captain and all-formats leader-in-waiting – getting an early chance to pitch for the full-time role, and an old ally taking one for the team by stepping up with obvious reluctance to offer Stokes the time and space he so needs to sort his head and decide on his priorities.
The prospect of Root’s appointment had been raised in the lead-up to the squad announcement, but without much conviction, largely because he’d made it abundantly clear his time was done – including on a recent Pakistan tour when Stokes was in danger of missing out through illness. Much like Mike Atherton in 2001, who took over when Nasser Hussain bust a finger during the Ashes because no-one else wanted the job, Root’s contentment in the ranks reflected the bruising nature of his five years at the top.
There were glories along the way, of course – including the 4-1 series victory over India in 2018 which, for all of the plaudits that have come Stokes’ way in his own tenure as captain, remains the last five-Test series that England have managed to win.
But, more gruesomely, there were failures – too many to mention by the end of a tenure that dissolved into exhaustion in the Covid-wrecked winter of 2021-22, with a run of one win in 17 matches that included a second consecutive 4-0 battering in the Ashes.
By the bitter end, Root’s retention as captain had taken on the air of a hostage situation. No-one else remotely coveted the chalice – not even Stokes, whose own ambitions were so deeply suppressed (apparently out of loyalty to his friend) that his instant aptitude for the role took almost every onlooker by surprise.
But now, here he is, stepping back into the hot seat at a moment of national crisis. Not for the first time in England’s recent Test history, the sense is of the senior players taking ownership while the management remain preoccupied with keeping up appearances. These are familiarly sorry circumstances, but they may – just may – be the means to head off a needlessly premature end for one of England’s greats.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
