Nothing in Test cricket is safe from England captain Ben Stokes and his disruptors.
A record run chase at Edgbaston in the most dominant of styles proves that whatever you think you know about the five day game is now open for debate. And if Stokes and his renegade crew of ‘rockstars’, ‘entertainers’, and ‘nighthawks’ think that they can do something with more fun and positivity than before, then they will.
Wondering what the heck a ‘nighthawk’ even is? Well you may have heard of the nightwatchman, whose job it is to try and see the team to the close late in the day if a wicket has fallen.
They are tailenders used to protect both the batsman out in the middle and the more technically gifted player that was due to come in and who might be dismissed early when they are more vulnerable. A nightwatchman is supposed to leave the ball if it is not on the stumps and defend it if it is. Not the nighthawk. The nighthawk’s job is to enter the fray late on and slog for all he’s worth - which is why Stuart Broad has been nominated for the role on a few occasions this summer.
“He might get 30 off 10 balls or 0 from 1,” said Stokes. “We are looking at every situation we are going to find ourselves in and what the positive thing to do is. For example, we renamed what the nightwatchman is all about. We called it ‘Nighthawk.’ “That was Broady. He was going out with half an hour left to play to try to literally slog. That’s where we are at the moment, it’s awesome.
“Every week that’s gone by over the last five weeks it’s got better and better, it’s amazing to think what we’ve done. That’s what we want to do – we want to create a legacy of Test cricket. We have done that in white ball cricket and we have seen other teams follow.”
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And while England are on a hot streak right now winning four games in a row, it is not just about the results as far as Stokes is concerned. He was revelling just as much in the way that opponents have taken the game to his team too, such as India’s thrilling wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant who crashed 146 in the first innings in his similarly positive style.
“Look at Rishabh innings,” added Stokes. “He is someone who would fit very well in our team at the moment, the way he goes about the game. It was incredible to watch and he’s someone who has had criticism in the past but is getting the plaudits for playing that way. The more we see players like that succeed in the way they want to, the more the negativity around that type of test cricket will eventually die out.
“It is so exciting to watch because cricket is an entertainment business – yes you want results but you want people to enjoy watching a spectacle – it’s about doing it differently now so cheers Rishabh!”
