Et Al Pics: The Stokes

Philip Brown focuses on Ben Stokes

Stokes frustrated by another Head boundary in Adelaide

Me and cricket. I shouldn’t care who does well and who doesn’t, I’m here to work, however, I must admit that seeing England do well in Australia can be pleasing and really quite good for business. It’s rare, let’s be honest, for them to do well. I’ve shot 85 Ashes Test matches, and over that time, I’ve only shot one series Down Under when England did well. I can’t pretend to not be disappointed this time. Sixty days in Australia, and The Ashes are over. A Test series that never really took off.

After the first day of the first Test in Perth, England and their supporters had every right to feel positive. The warrior that is Ben Stokes had taken 5 wickets for 23, and England supporters all over Perth headed to “The Lucky Shag” that evening with a real spring in their step. A day later, Travis Head battered England, and anyone with half a brain realised that any chance of England winning the series was gone.

My aim is to get the photos (good photos hopefully), and with a large number of newspapers and related websites back in the UK, I normally focus on the vanquished more than the victors after a defeat. Ben Stokes obviously gives his all, but I do feel slightly embarrassed that I concentrate so much on him when he plays. In the moments after the first Test defeat back in November. I sent 29 images as the players trooped from the field in Perth, and 26 of them featured Ben Stokes (that’s 89.7%).

Ben Stokes is absolutely amazing to photograph. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He produces photos, and I have to admit I take more shots of him than I should. He probably shows his emotions more than any other cricketer that I’ve ever seen. Shane Warne and Andrew Flintoff were great to shoot, and Stokes is in that same A+ category.

I’ve worked out the percentage of photographs that I took during Test match days that included ‘Stokesy’. It’s quite illuminating (shocking) considering there were so many other players in the series. Let’s not forget I was also capturing other things, including pundits, coaches, fans and scoreboards.

So in Perth, after that infamous two-day Test, I’d sent 250 images back to Getty Images, of which 83 included England’s captain. That is 33.2%. In Brisbane, I sent 91 of him, which was nearly 27%. Adelaide 102 shots, which was over 25%, Melbourne had 18% in a Test where he scored a mere 18 runs. Sydney, another 88 photos sent, equalling 20%. It’s pretty mad, isn’t it?

I was really happy with the reaction shot of Stokes that I got in Adelaide. Travis Head had just dispatched a cover drive to the boundary. I suddenly remembered where Stokes was in the field and panned my lens to him. He was grimacing, looking into the sky, and I think it neatly sums up the match in an image, and indeed the series.

But thinking about it, the number of images that newspapers and websites used of the England captain was really high also. I sent 2387 images during the entire tour, and a total of 695 were of Ben Stokes – which is 29.1%.

Mad, but I think understandable.