After a certain point, there is no turning back. Like Ben Stokes' relationship with the philosophy of Bazball. Once the choice is made, in a sense, Stokes is liberated.

Or that's the impression he and his Bazballers have given. That urge and confidence has been questioned a couple of times in this series, but the England skipper has managed to soldier on. Stokes' vision, urges and interventions have been spellbinding to track on the ground. Saddled with a weak bowling attack - the main difference between the two teams which has been further widened by the conditions carefully chosen by India - Stokes has somehow made his bowling unit look far better than it actually is with constant chats, and imaginative-but-always-purposefully-set fields. But in a long Test series, the inherent vulnerabilities were exposed even against an average Indian batting line-up.

Cricket - Fourth Test - India v England - JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi, India - February 25, 2024 England's Ben Stokes inspects the ball with teammates during the match REUTERS/Amit Dave

In the recent past, England have often climbed mountains on the back of Stokes the batsman but unfortunately for them, that hasn't happened in this series as yet. He has not been able to grab the ball and fire away his bouncers either, as was his wont. It's tempting to say that all of Stokes' emotional energy has been so taken by the task of handling his bowlers that his batting headspace isn't where it needed to be, but that won't be accurate. His defensive game on turners (albeit slow in this series) has never quite held up and his decision about what length to press back to can often be disastrous. He plays the line and remains vulnerable to balls that do something different to what he anticipates. Really good batsmen tend to stay alert in