Stokes, back in the side for the first time in nine weeks after a hamstring tear had ruled him out of their home series against Sri Lanka as well as last week’s first Test, told Sky Sports that he had behaved like a “tired and grumpy old man” when bawling out his players at a critical juncture of Pakistan’s second innings.
Then, when Jack Leach fumbled at point to give away an unnecessary single in Carse’s subsequent over, Stokes let out a roar of exasperation – which, while understandable in the circumstances, was out of character for a captain who has extolled a blame-free environment in the course of his two-and-a-half year reign.
“I actually apologised to the group up there last night,” Stokes said afterwards. “It’s the first time in my captaincy that I’ve let my emotions show in my body language, with how I was feeling as the game was unfolding. I owned up to that, and I’m very annoyed at myself for letting that out.
“It’s something that I don’t want to do, or be seen to be doing,” he added. “No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are out in these subcontinent conditions, because they don’t come along that often. So I apologised to the group and said that was poor of me. I was a tired and grumpy old man last night. You won’t see that happen again.”
“I was a bit surprised, but we all know how passionate Ben is, and how much it means to him to play for England,” McCullum told Sky Sports. “We’ve seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from the injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe, and in extreme conditions of 40 degrees.
“I think maybe that’s where some of that frustration led to, certainly it wasn’t directed at any of the players,” he added. “It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game and to impact on it. But look, he’ll be better for the run. And I thought in the second innings [where he made 37 from 36 balls] he looked like he had that method where he could put pressure on the opposition. He’s at his best when he’s doing that.”
Stokes himself acknowledged that the challenge of getting back to match fitness had been a tough one, having played no competitive cricket since tearing his hamstring while batting in the Hundred in August.
“I’ve worked so, so hard to get fit for this Test match, but nothing can prepare you for standing out on the field in hot weather,” he said. “Training doesn’t do that, so it was great to be able to get through this Test match, it fills me up nicely going into next week, and it was nice to get some overs under the belt as well. That was the one thing which I felt like I was lacking. But obviously, when you get into the game, and you feel like it’s on the line, nothing can stop me from doing that.”
“He’s been fantastic,” Stokes said. “He’s shown in these two games why we picked him in all formats, not just Test cricket, going forward. He just keeps charging in, ball after ball, spell after spell. Obviously, when the ball starts reverse-swinging, he comes into the game even more. Having his batting ability down the order again is massive for us. He’s been really good, and he’s going to raise his stock even higher than what it was already.”
McCullum agreed Carse had been the “standout” of England’s attack. “I wouldn’t say he surprised me, because he came with the reputation of someone that could bowl good pace with a big heart, to keep charging in with some steepling bounce,” he said. “To be able to do it in England is one thing, to do it on a surface which didn’t offer a whole lot for fast bowlers is simply outstanding. We’re trying to build a battery of fast bowlers, and Carse has certainly put his name into that.”
As a former Test wicketkeeper, McCullum also defended Smith’s display in the wake of his costly lapse on the third evening. After three sharp takes in the first innings, it was a rare blemish in what has been a fine start to Smith’s England career, while his twin scores of 21 and 6 amounted to his smallest contribution with the bat in course of eight Tests.
“You will not get a tougher set of conditions to keep wicket on,” McCullum said. “Jamie’s very disappointed about dropping that catch. But you take that out, I thought his keeping was as good as I’ve seen in these conditions, particularly from a foreign wicketkeeper.
“He’s just continuing to impress, and obviously in both innings, he’s trying to put pressure on the opposition on that surface, which is very difficult, but that’s his natural game. He’s turning into a really big player for us.
“But that’s where you got to have the ability to turn the page pretty quickly as well, because if you ever let your mistakes dictate your attitude and your confidence, then you’re in for a hell of a time. Mistakes in this game are going to be part of it, but 99% of what Jamie has done in this Test match has been absolutely outstanding. And that’ll be the message to him.”
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
