Captain Ben Stokes says his bowling performance in England’s final-day win over India’s at Lord’s was the toughest of the “dark places” he has been to during a Test.
Stokes, 34, was named player of the match for his all-round performance in a dramatic 22-run victory, including two wickets on the final day as the tourists were bowled out for 170.
Having taken the wicket of Akash Deep with the last ball of the day on the penultimate evening, Stokes bowled a 9.2-over spell to kickstart the morning and pinned the in-form KL Rahul lbw for 39.
Another 10-over burst in the afternoon, as India dug in, saw him toil relentlessly with an old, soft ball and he was rewarded with the wicket of Jasprit Bumrah.
“The Test match is on the line, it is different,” Stokes told BBC Test Match Special, when asked if he had any worries about his workload during those spells.
“There are moments where I wouldn’t even think about stopping.”
Stokes has only just just returned from hamstring surgery and came through an injury scare in this Test when he appeared to suffer a right groin problem while batting on day one.
He added he had “history of turning up in moments like that” with the ball and was “pretty pumped” throughout.
“I thought I’d taken myself to some pretty dark places before, but bowling to win a Test for your country – if that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what does,” said Stokes.
He added he felt a “whole new level of tiredness” after helping England go 2-1 up in the series, but confirmed he would be fit for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, which starts on 23 July.
