Hands up who owes Ben Stokes an apology?
Who thought he'd taken leave of his cricketing senses when he opted to field in the first Test against India?
As chasing leather under burning sunshine on Friday gave way to chasing victory under moody clouds on Tuesday, there were plenty of us forced to admit Stokes was right. Again.
This was another Headingley classic. Not quite touching the heights of Stokes in 2019 or Ian Botham in 1981, but knocking off 371 in relative comfort is another entry into the lore of the famous old ground. Ben Duckett, with his swashbuckling 149, is the newest candidate to be immortalised by the Burley Banksy.
There were reasons for Stokes to believe he would be vindicated: Headingley is the only ground in the past 14 years where Test batting has got easier innings on innings.
