"It would be amazing if I could get a big score in these next two Tests. Even if just to see what I can get from Tottenham Hotspur; Stokesy has been showing off with the new shirt he got sent"
Wednesday 4 September 2019 15:37, UK
In his latest column for Sky Sports, Jason Roy reflects on Ben Stokes’ Headingley heroics, his DJ set afterwards and discusses his move to No 4 in the order and how he hopes it will win him a Tottenham Hotspur shirt…
Stokesy's hundred at Headingley is 100 per cent the best innings I've ever seen.
Just like the craziness of the World Cup final win, it leaves you kind of lost for words. It was just ridiculous.
Getting bowled out for 67 in the first innings was extremely disheartening and it was always going to be hard from there on out. We never thought we'd end up in the situation we were in on that fourth day of the Test, let alone win it.
But there was a lot of stuff said, like 'while Stokesy's still there, we've got a chance'.
I'd lost hope - 73 runs still needed, with one wicket left? I'd started packing my gear up, and then Stokesy hit a couple of sixes.
I thought, 'this is going to be good to watch, whatever the result', so I went and stood on the balcony, holding the back of a chair, with a few of the lads around me.
I'm not normally a big believer in this kind of stuff but, from that point on, nobody moved.
Maybe between balls you'd have a tiny bit of a walk around but, when the bowler was back at the top of his run, it was back to my chair.
By about as early as 40 runs still needed, everyone in the changing room began to have the same feeling; he's going to do this. The control he showed, hitting sixes at will, rotating the strike and his calming influence on Jack Leach.
Obviously things went our way - we won't shy away from that - with the near run-out that Nathan Lyon fumbled.
The lads went from feeling on top of the world, with Stokesy smashing us to victory, to then suddenly Leachy sprinting halfway down the track. Some of the guys nearly collapsed!
Leachy can't talk about it. I said to him, I feel exactly the same way about the ball I fielded for the run-out in the World Cup final. It keeps me awake at night, the thought of fumbling it.
But he was incredible and deserves a huge amount of the plaudits for his part in the win.
As for Stokesy, I don't know how he had the energy. He was just in that frame of mind where nothing was going to stop him. He didn't show much emotion all day - he was concentrating on the job in hand at all times - and you could see the toll that took by the end, he was absolutely finished!
Even us lads in the changing room were exhausted, going through all the emotions. He must have been running off pure adrenaline, and McDonald's by the end of the evening!
I missed out on that trip as I'd already started heading back home by that point, but sitting on the outfield as a team, celebrating after one of the greatest Test matches of all time, was an incredible moment.
Those are the times you play the game for. There wasn't too much talk, we were just taking it all in; it was a beautiful evening, with the sun going down and it was dead quiet, yet only a few hours before there was absolute carnage.
Leachy is literally the most humble bloke in the changing room but, after a couple of beers, we were able to spur him on to re-enact his game-tying run. Meanwhile, I was in charge of the tunes for a bit.
There was some hip hop, which is more my kind of vibe, but I even slowed it down and threw in a bit of Lewis Capaldi towards the end.
Moving on to the Old Trafford Test this week, there is the feeling around the group that the momentum is with us. The lads are fired up and now believe anything is possible.
On a personal note, my form has been quite frustrating. I knew that opening the batting in Test cricket was going to be completely different to one-day cricket, but I have found it really difficult.
Coming straight into the Test arena off the back of the World Cup - feeling mentally and physically drained - I have been trying to learn on the job and work out my method while playing.
I have been going out to bat, facing a few balls and thinking, 'this is working' and then I'll get a good ball, or a drive ball that I nick, and you have to start all over again next innings.
People have made their conclusions, saying 'he's not a Test player' and this sort of stuff. I think I am, and can be, and so moving to down the order to No 4 for this Test, mentally it's a lot more comforting. You get a bit more time to ease into an innings.
That's not to say it's going to be easy. This is comfortably the best attack I've ever faced; they have a relentless group of tall, fast bowlers, who all operate up at or close to 90mph. They are so consistent; they don't seem to ever miss their areas.
But, as a batting unit, we're hungry. That's a great feeling, especially considering how deep we are in the season and the amount of cricket that has been played already.
The second innings at Headingley is 100 per cent our template going forward. In an ideal world, you'd want one more batsman to go big with Stokesy, to push for the big 400, 450 plus totals and it would be amazing if I could contribute and get a big score in these next two Tests.
Even if just to see what I can get sent to me from Tottenham Hotspur; Stokesy has been showing off with the new shirt he got sent by them after his hundred, but my little girl Everly is a Tottenham fan.
During their Champions League game against Manchester City earlier in the year, I remember she was crying and crying and crying, and then I flicked the football on and suddenly she stopped.
I said, if Tottenham win this game, she's a Tottenham fan. She didn't cry the whole game and, in my opinion, their run to the final was all down to her.
I'm not the only one chomping at the bit this week though. Jofra Archer is really excited and looking forward to building on his efforts at Headingley.
He's eager to get going, but so is everyone. We don't want Stokesy's effort at Headingley to be for nothing and if we lose this game, it will be.
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