Will Ben Stokes be the greatest cricketer of all time?

Feeling depressed about politics? I hope not. Politicians don’t shape the world: they are the furniture movers, not the furniture makers. It is inventors, scientists, philosophers, craftsmen, artists and poets who influence our lives. And sports people of course. Which means it’s time to think about Ben Stokes again. The Test Match Special lunchtime guest on the Saturday of the Headingley Test was Joe Simpson, ace climber and cricket-lover, and author of the epic Touching the Void. There’s not much Joe doesn’t know about coming back from the dead, and some of it must have rubbed off on Stokes.

The most extraordinary moment of that extraordinary innings came when Stokes reached his century. After hours of exhausting work, iron discipline and concentration, he barely celebrated. No bat-raising, helmet-lifting or exultant leaps in the air. A very cursory acknowledgement, perhaps, as he waved away Jack Leach who was coming to congratulate him.