Ben Stokes remembers clearly the moment he realised that playing for England meant more than just winning matches.
It was a Bank Holiday Monday morning in late May two years ago and Stokes and Joe Root were driving from the team hotel to Lord’s for the final day of an enthralling Test against New Zealand.
As the pair approached the famous old ground a wide-eyed Stokes stared in amazement at the thousands of people – lots of them young kids – queuing to get a ticket for what would be a thrilling finale.
“Rooty and I drove into the ground and the queues of people to get in were huge,” recalled Stokes.
“I’d never seen it like that. There had been runs galore in those first four days, something was always happening – people wanted to see us play exciting cricket.”
Stokes had been brilliant with the bat, bettering his first innings 92 with a stonking century off 85 balls – the fastest ever at Lord’s, as England hauled themselves off the floor to turn around a 134-run first innings deficit.
The Durham all-rounder would then play a significant role on day five, taking two wickets in as many balls to make England favourites.
With New Zealand wobbling at 61 for three, Stokes forced Kane Williamson to fend into the gully where Root took a smart catch.
Roared on by the crowd, Stokes unfurled a fast inswinger which cannoned off Brendon McCullum’s pads and into the stumps.
New Zealand recovered but the hordes of fans who queued from dusk were rewarded in the last hour of play when Moeen Ali took a superbly judged tumbling catch at third man to seal the win.
“I’ve never heard Lord’s sound like that,” said Alastair Cook.
It had been a belting Test match and one in which Stokes, who was man of the match, reaffirmed his status as a world-class cricketer.
“I will always remember that,” said Stokes. “We got people to notice Test cricket and we need to do that again.
“Test cricket is the pinnacle and we need people to fall in love with it again. We need to win but we want to perform in a manner that makes people want to come and watch us.
“We want to be positive, aggressive and always on the front foot. If we do that then we will get those performances. The team we have is full of natural entertainers. We need them to perform like they did for their counties, that’s why they got there in the first place.”
It seems appropriate that Root and Stokes, who were so affected by the queuing fans, should be charged with taking England into a new era.
The pair were announced as captain and vice-captain on Monday and Stokes, while proud at his own promotion, was equally thrilled for his friend.
“I’ve always believed that Rooty was going to be captain,” he said. “He’s the right person and the best person to do it.
“Rooty and I have known each other for years, from county age group, England age group, Lions and now England. We’ve always crossed paths whatever system. He’s a colleague but also a close mate and I was chuffed to bits for him. I couldn’t be more pleased for him.
“We have the same direction of where we want to take the team. Every team goes through transition but I hope we can be influential in taking the team forward.
“Getting the news that I would be his vice-captain made me ecstatic. It’s a real honour, it’s England vice-captain, it’s supporting Rooty, but it’s also the recognition from him and the people at the top of the ECB.”