Instead of determination, we had destruction. Instead of patience, we had passion. And instead of percentage cricket we had bull’s-eyes and jackpots

George Dobell at Lord's25-May-2015It was the sort of day you could believe that anything was possible in English cricket. We had a packed Lord’s, a fine fast bowler in Mark Wood, an explosive allrounder in Ben Stokes and two teams who wanted to slug it out rather than look for points advantages. It was probably overcast, but it felt as if the sun shone throughout. This was the way Test cricket – five-day Test cricket – was meant to be.It has become customary to explain away England’s successes, but it is worth reflecting on a few facts from this match. The pertinent ones are these: in a game against the world’s No. 3 side, England found themselves at 30 for 4 and then found their opposition on 403 for 3. Yet they bounced back to claim victory deep inside the last hour.It was all so typically un-English. Instead of determination, we had destruction. Instead of patience, we had passion. And instead of percentage cricket we had bull’s-eyes and jackpots. You have to go back a long way to recall a more entertaining performance from an England side rather than an England individual. If this is to be the way of things from now on, the disenfranchised will soon be won over once more.Two contributions stand out. Stokes, the man of the match, scored 193 runs in 186 balls – the highest strike-rate in Test history for an England batsman to have scored more than 150 in a match – as well as claiming three important second-innings wickets, while Alastair Cook played one of his finest Test innings and had the best match of his career as captain since India in 2012. Suddenly the Ashes don’t seem so daunting. Indeed, Australia, for all their bravado, may be a little more uneasy than they let on against an England side with minimal expectations, little to lose and a hell of a punch.Cook had an almost perfect final day. It started with him unbeaten on 150 and ended with him posting a third man moments before Trent Boult carved the ball in that direction. It included bowling changes that brought immediate rewards – Moeen Ali dismissed Tim Southee with his first ball back in the attack; Joe Root took the key wicket of Corey Anderson in his second over and Ben Stokes bowled Mark Craig almost as soon as he was brought back on – and fielding changes that proved inspired. Everything Cook touched seemed to turn to gold. If he scratched a spot on his face today, he would probably win a car.

It is premature to talk of Stokes as a great allrounder but to see him dismiss Brendon McCullum with a searing inswinger and thrash the fastest Lord’s Test century was to see a special talent start to bloom

Cook self-deprecatingly put much of his success down to luck. But it is not fortunate if you spend months working in the nets and reap much-improved form with the bat any more than it is fortune if you gain rewards for shuffling your bowlers and posting thoughtful fields. He may never be a great captain, but that is no reason to withhold the credit he deserves for this success. He had a very good game and England had their best win, perhaps also since the India tour of 2012.But in years to come this match be remembered for the emergence of Stokes. It is a development that could yet have huge ramifications for Cook’s captaincy career. Or even Joe Root’s.Great allrounders change everything. It was Andrew Flintoff’s period of excellence that helped Michael Vaughan lead England to the Ashes in 2005. And it was Sir Ian Botham’s excellence that helped cement Mike Brearley’s reputation as one of the great captains. If Cook can count on Stokes, he can count on a player that balances the side, bowls and bats with pace and fields with athleticism. He has a game-changer.It is, of course, premature to talk of Stokes as a great allrounder. But to see him dismiss Brendon McCullum with a searing inswinger of which Imran Khan would have been proud, to see him thrash the fastest Test century Lord’s has seen, to see him help England rebuild in the first innings, was to see a special talent start to bloom. He may be crushed by the schedule, the expectation or the criticism – there will be days when those hook shots find hands rather than stands – but English cricket has a gem in Stokes. It will have performed horrifically if it manages to ruin him.Cook, at least, knows what he has in Stokes. While he was, along with everyone else, impressed by the second-innings century, it was the first innings rebuilding job against a fine attack, in tricky conditions and with the side at 30 for 4, that really stood out. “All the plaudits will be for that second-innings hundred,” Cook said. “But for me the 92 off 94 balls – when we were 30 for 4 – was just brilliant. The ball was swinging round corners and the bowlers were fresh. It was fantastic, unbelievable batting.”In some ways, it is harsh to pick out two players for England’s success. Joe Root, with 182 runs in the match, enjoyed a fine game, as did Mark Wood, whose pace and enthusiasm have added an edge to this side. Stuart Broad also bowled splendidly from the start of the third day.New Zealand, too, leave Lord’s having made many friends. Brendon McCullum’s captaincy might leave his side exposed in some areas – their positivity is relentless more than it is sensible – but nobody could deny its entertainment value. At a time when the health of the game is a concern, the Test loving world owes McCullum’s New Zealand plenty.There are, as ever, some caveats for England. Not every side will play the obliging brand of cricket New Zealand have made their characteristic, Moeen Ali did not look entirely comfortable in the fourth innings and Wood, for all his brilliance, looks fragile. He will require careful management – he has barely played two-dozen games in his first-class career – if he is to have a longer international career than Simon Jones.But this is not the time to be taking the negatives. This is the time to revel in a fine game and look to the future with cautious excitement. It is often – and quite truthfully – stated that the world needs a strong West Indies and strong Pakistan. It needs a strong England, too. And, in the next few years, it might just have one.