I spent the first 25 minutes post-midnight deciding that perfect header that could encapsulate so multitudinous a cricketer Ben Stokes has been. But eventually gave up on the ritual, for every time I did, I felt it quite didn't sum him up. How could 110 characters describe a cricketer who fashioned the slowest Test innings of his first-class career across the first two days of the second Test, and two days later, went absolutely berserk in scoring the fastest half-century by an English opener? Not to forget, either side of his fiery fifty laid two of his longest spells in his Test career that comprised mostly of bouncers with the old soft ball.

If there was one player who made it to the headlines of the day's report on all four occasions (leaving out the washed-out day 3), it was Stokes. But he wasn't even the talking point ahead of the crucial second Test. Fans and veterans were relying on Joe Root to make the difference for England after West Indies stunned the hosts in the Southampton opener on July 11.
Yet, all through the Test, it was Stokes that England relied on. Whether it was pushing the first innings total past 400 after a sedated 260-run partnership alongside fellow centurion Dominic Sibley, or whether it was looking for some quick runs to extend the lead past the 250-run mark, or when England required to break crucial partnerships. Stokes delivered each time England wanted to make an inroad.

Although England's 113-run series-levelling win in Manchester on Monday evening had key contributions from Sibley, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes, Stokes's imposing all-round performance, which included 254 runs and three wickets, was what stood as the difference between the two sides. No wonder the skipper hailed him as "Mr. Incredible".

Stokes did play an influencing role in England's Southampton game ten nights ago, scoring some 40 odd runs and taking six wickets, the most contributed by an English player, although in a losing cause. But in Manchester, Stokes had turned back the clock to his Headingley classic, albeit they are vastly different on many levels, one of which includes that the latter was being played in front of a raucous home crowd with the Ashes series on the line. The similarity laid in the immense impact he made on the scoreline which was only witnessed by the members and staff of the two teams, the commentators and a handful of media persons.