England’s three musketeers step up to fill void left by superhero Stokes

There is an inherent sadness to being the standout in fields where what you do and, perhaps more importantly, how you do it brings such joy to others. Because while you’ll know of the power you wield, you’ll never be able to witness it.

The hairs on the back of Etta James’ neck probably never stood up as much as they did on ours when those strings hit in the opening few seconds of “At Last”. Steph Curry will never truly know the sense of anticipation we get when the greatest shooter in NBA history crosses the halfway line with defenders backing away leaving room to pull-up and put the lights out. Even Larry David does not rate Curb Your Enthusiasm as his best work.

Well, that’s not strictly true. He was there on the balcony in front of the England dressing room, hating every moment of it. Finally, some commonality of feeling between punter and a player seemingly built different.

Being exposed without being the centre of attention, locked in but not involved, we finally got to see his coping mechanisms. He grimaced a lot, more so than when he’s bowling. Nervous energy was expended by either doodling or wearing out the floor in the home dressing room. He guessed he’d done about 2km during the last half-hour of the chase. He probably did that quicker than most could run it.

“I didn’t actually watch the last 20 runs being scored,” he said in his press conference. “It’s a completely different place when you can’t do anything, you can’t influence the game any more, you’re left watching and hoping things are going to go your way.”

Finally, he gets it. As stunning as the feats may be, the ride itself is agonising. Peaks and troughs forcing you to confront the extremes of the spectrum, as the runs go down and the wickets intermittently go up. Are England winning? Will England win? Are the Ashes dead? Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do I do this to myself? Why do people do this at all? Stokes finally got to endure all that from the other side, and he hated it.

However, there’s something far greater that the likes of Stokes, Etta and Steph experience that us mere mortals don’t. The glory of being the creator of such joy, sculpting memories in minds of those you’ll never meet, whose thanks you will never receive. That alone makes up for not hearing your own songs for the first time or watching someone sink threes from impossible range.

And then came Wood, like Mr Blobby careering on to daytime TV and threatening to bring down the whole set. Endearing enough already, Wood embedded himself further into English hearts with a nerve-easing six off Cummins

Brook’s 75, mature beyond his years, rebuilt a chase that had faltered once Stokes “The Saviour” and Jonny Bairstow “The Redeemer” had been dismissed to seemingly blunt England’s headline narrative. Wood put the finishing touches to the match and his Player-of-the-Match performance with a 16 not out, taking his overall contribution to 40 off 16 with the bat and 7 for 100 with the ball. Woakes thought days like these were beyond him after a knee injury ruled him out of all cricket last summer, but compiled an unbeaten 32 as the start of a new chapter in his Test story. As he said to Sky Sports not long after the finish: “It gave me a little sense of how Stokesy felt at Headingley four years ago.”

Within those individual moments were strands of reassurance, redemption and simple score-settling. Brook had never played an international at his home ground, and ended up becoming the quickest played to 1000 Test runs (on deliveries faced) in front of his people. Woakes, so often in Stokes’ shadow, stepped into the limelight, and having spoken jovially of the prospect of playing the Jack Leach role in a potential 2019 remake, he stepped up to become Him. Wood has long resented batting as low as he does because it has meant being out in the middle when the opposition secures victory. This time, he was not the one having to be magnanimous in defeat.

The broader focus of this win feeds the whole squad. The XI was selected to cover for the fact that Stokes did not know bowl. The way Woakes and Wood came to the fore, particularly in Australia’s second innings, combining for 35 of the 67.1 overs because of Ollie Robinson’s back spasm and taking 5 for 134 between them, told of a vision still clear behind closed doors. Even as experienced campaigners, coming into a series cold and impacting each day’s play underlines how they have been managed going into this match.

Of course, a lot of that has come from Stokes. And it is most apparent with Brook. The 24-year-old has had a bitty series, coming to Leeds with an average of 33 across both innings before a skittish 3 as the stand-in No. 3. Using him to replace the injured Ollie Pope spoke more of wanting to insulate Joe Root at four than thinking they could unlock something within a batter who has a poor record at the top of the order. But the build-up to day four had clearly been more attuned to Brook.

Moeen Ali volunteered to go in at No. 3 for the second innings, something billed as a chance to take the attack to Australia’s bowlers. It didn’t work, with Moeen scoring 5 off 15, but it did afford Brook a clearer run at what was required.

His remit was clear when he strode to the crease in the 20th over, 158 still to get. And though he could not see it home, to have taken out almost half of what remained off his own bat spoke of a man who thrived on believing only he had the answers. Actually, that he was the answer.

Brook’s departure was a surprise, leaving 21 to go. But what a ride it turned out to be. Woakes, having been peppered with bouncers on account he has been dismissed 10 times in that fashion by Australian quicks, found a way to cope. At times it seemed like a man trying to get rid of a hornet’s nest with a can of Lynx and a lighter. By the end, he was ducking and swaying like prime Floyd Mayweather, and even when a few popped up just over the head of fielders or were top-edged “safely” into the deep, you believed – wrongly – he was in total control. He had earned that trust.

And then in came Wood, like Mr Blobby careering on to daytime TV and threatening to bring down the whole set. Endearing enough already, Wood embedded himself further into English hearts with a nerve-easing six off Pat Cummins after the Australia captain brought himself on and went short from around the wicket. The noise in the ground was deafening, decibels on par with four years ago. The fascinating thing about those moments in chases is the boundary pop; how much it gives to the batting side, how much it mocks the bowling one. When Wood stepped away to drill a Starc delivery headed for his stumps through the covers, the whole joint threatened to take off and head straight to town.

For Woakes and Wood, best mates, to be there at the end will only bind them further. That Brook played such an important part with a career best in England at a ground where so much of his early learnings have come, keeps him closer in the locals lucky enough to be here. And the three of them, together, have something they will never get bored reliving.

Assuming most of the responsibility, earning faith through your endeavour and pumping boundaries to get the crowd going. It all sounds so familiar, yet the bloke who is usually involved was sat watching. But perhaps most importantly, England were able to channel the best of Stokes without having to burden him. A vital realisation as they look to embark on what would be the most Stokes-ian turnarounds in an Ashes series.