Manu Tuilagi and Ben Stokes both led England to victories this week. Photos / AP
Manu Tuilagi and Ben Stokes both led England to victories this week. Photos / AP
England's white shirts may seem spotless against the backdrop of a stunning northern summer weekend but in this erratic sporting world, stains and clouds are never far away.
Whatever your sporting persuasions, rush to watch as much of the final two Ashes tests as possible. There will be no betterlive theatre, no more compelling sport than this before the Rugby World Cup begins next month.
With Ben Stokes at the crease, cricketing fortunes keep falling in England's favour, the Christchurch-born all-rounder continuing to make the impossible possible.
This notion in isolation forms the captivating lure of sport – the ability of teams, or in this case, one individual, to prevail against all odds. And 73 runs for the final wicket, for England's highest successful test run chase in history, defies all logic before you even begin to consider Jack Leach cleaning his foggy glasses between surviving the Aussie quicks and finishing one not out.
From Trent Boult's dropped catch on the boundary in the World Cup final to Nathan Lyon's butchered run out, Tim Paine's terrible review, Marcus Harris' drop in deep and umpire Joel Wilson's late Headingly howler, Stokes is a ginger cat with nine lives. But he sure knows how to cash in, and clearly has the character for the biggest stages.
Reflecting on the circumstances of Stokes' unbeaten 135, it must rank among the greatest knocks of all time; certainly in discussion with Brian Lara's unbeaten 153 against Australia in Barbados, the same score from Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera in Durban earlier this year and VVS Laxman's 281.
Given Stokes' energetic effort it is natural to only recall him reducing Australia's two best bowlers, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, to cannon fodder as he plundered 30 runs in 10 minutes to finish with seven sixes.
But many respects, it was his innings start that said so much more about his nous to assess the state of the game, and dig in.
Stokes arrived with England 141-3. As the host's familiar tumbles set in he made two from 66 balls and faced another eight more before hitting his first boundary. This is proper test batsmanship; the ability to simply hang around and frustrate putting Stokes in the position the following day to again play unlikely match-winning hero.
For all his obvious stroke-making talent, the ramp shots and reverse sweeps, Stokes' temperament stands above all other qualities.
England's Ben Stokes celebrates after scoring the winning runs on the fourth day of the third Ashes test against Australia. Photo / AP
With the series now level at 1-1, England would do well to temper enthusiasm about their chances of regaining the Ashes.
Sure, momentum is theirs. And they will hope to harness the confidence Stokes has provided.
But lest we forget only two days earlier they were humbled for 67 – their lowest Ashes score since 1948, and the lowest first-innings score in a test win since 1887.
With Steve Smith set to return from a concussion for Old Trafford and, surely, a rested Mitchell Starc to come back into contention, Australia remain favourites in my book to retain the urn.
Stokes and Jofra Archer cannot do it alone. With Jason Roy seemingly out of his depth as a test opener and Jos Buttler similarly out of form, England's top six have issues swiftly in need of address.
The irony of cricket dominating the front and back pages of England's broadsheets is that, from a team perspective at least, there was a much more impressive display at Twickenham ahead of a certain global tournament.
After the Six Nations, despite the Welsh grand slam triumph, I noted England were the most threatening northern presence for the World Cup. After their 57-15 rout of Ireland, England's danger is now clearly impossible to ignore.
Sure Ireland were without Johnny Sexton and Joey Carbery, their two leading playmakers, but one month out from their World Cup-shaping opening pool match against Scotland, conceding eight tries and missing 38 tackles gives credence to the assertion World Rugby's 2018 team of the year may have peaked too early.
That this humiliation comes on the back of blowouts to Wales and England in the Six Nations heightens concerns.
World Cup warm ups must be taken with grains of salt but this was, indeed, a worrisome result on the eve of a tournament Joe Schmidt has been reading Ireland for the past four years, since crashing out in the 2015 quarterfinals.
There is no secret to the way England will approach Japan. Power remains their No 1 weapon, and if they can keep Manu Tuilagi, Billy and Mako Vunipola on the park, they are a serious contender.
That remains a big if, though, with loosehead prop Mako lasting 16 minutes in his return from a hamstring operation and now awaiting scans on the same issue.
Tuilagi was a revelation at centre against Ireland, outside dual playmakers George Ford and Owen Farrell. But for the crunch World Cup games, I believe England's best midfield is Tuilagi inside the classy Henry Slade, a much safer defensive presence while he also offers a heady kicking game.
This combination allows Farrell to retain his favoured No 10 role.
Eddie Jones has, at various points during his English tenure, been derided in many quarters. He loves to play the fool but there is method to the madness.
With hulking wing Joe Cokanasiga and the Tom Curry-Sam Underhill loose forward combination coming off too, Jones has options and confidence at his disposal prior to the World Cup.
The caveat with these northern teams is playing away from traditional strongholds presents a very different beast.
Replicate this form, and England can win the World Cup but, as Stokes proved, fortunes for those in white often swing with one performance.
