Ben Stokes bombshell shows how power has swung to sport’s players and coaches
Social media has allowed the likes of Ben Stokes to control their own narrative but we are no nearer to knowing the truth, says Ed Warner.
Truth is a pliable concept, capable of being moulded to suit the interests of the individual, and a battleground for competing narratives.
Perspective is not all; volume and reach are key factors in determining the ultimate truth as enshrined in public memory and tomorrow’s history books (or blogs). No surprise when POTUS broadcasts his version of events on a platform he’s christened Truth Social.
We may never know the truth behind Ben Stokes’s retirement announcement at 3:25pm on the fourth day of a Test match that was still in the balance, albeit one tilted against his England team. What is clear is that his sporting celebrity status gave him the upper hand in moulding the story.
In a world in which social media has largely usurped traditional channels as the primary source of news for younger (and not so young) generations, sport’s bureaucrats now find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. The consequences are real, both on the pitch and off it.
The ubiquity of smartphones loaded with social media has provided sportspeople at all levels with the means of curating their own truth. The explosive growth in financial rewards has further emboldened sport’s biggest stars to determine their futures rather than have them shaped by their paymasters.
Stokes’s decision was formally relayed by a press release from his employer, the England and Wales Cricket Board. But it was the captain’s dressing room speech to his teammates, dropped on social media, which provided the data that commentators – professional and amateur – were most keen to parse.
“Reasons why can wait. But I’ve had many trips to the well before for this team, for you blokes, for people beforehand and I’ve got one more trip to do. The only thing that I ask, please, is can everyone else please just do the same?”
Ben Stokes’s rallying cry to his team
“England will never be the same again.”
England Cricket post on X
“Wantaway” footballers have long used agents and friends to let it be known of their unhappiness at their club and desire to find an alternative home. Now they can cut out the middle men and women and release cryptic posts that hint at their inner career desires. Or simply unfollow their existing team – a sure-fire way to light a fan forum bonfire.
Banishment to the reserves might prove an embarrassment to a player who transgresses team solidarity, but their wages will still be paid and a clock counting down to the end of a contract is also one counting up to free agency and the opportunity of a reset with a new fanbase predisposed to optimism about a fresh signing.
Forgiveness comes easily too for those whose place of work is the arena rather than the boardroom. Witness Mo Salah’s send-off at Liverpool after his mid-season fallout with the club.
Most striking, for me, in recent times has been football managers’ boldness in making their own new employment ambitions public.
Where the traditional tale has been of managers clinging to their contracts in the face of poor results, hoping at the least for a juicy payoff to draw a line under failure, now it is of successful head coaches making it clear mid-season that they fancy a change of scenery and a career upgrade.
Andoni Iraola, from Bournemouth’s highest heights to a Liverpool rejuvenation project; Oliver Glasner, leaving Crystal Palace in search of something else as yet unknown; Enzo Maresca publicly talking himself out of a job at Chelsea and into Manchester City at the expense of an apology and compensation paid from his own pocket to his former employer.
“Leave ‘em wanting more” seems to be the new mantra (although Chelsea fans at the time of Maresca’s outburst last December may have already had enough – unaware that worse was to come under Liam Rosenior).
“I suppose I prefer to make the mistake of ‘maybe I could have stayed one year more’, but I don’t want to make the mistake of ‘it was one year too much’ and there is a small margin that you are playing with and this is what it is.”
Andoni Iraola
This narrative curation by star players and managers is also a reflection of the opportunity modern media presents to craft a durable, monetisable image. Pundit, pub landlord, plumber or rehab resident are no longer the only paths available for the long-retired.
“Entrepreneurship” is available to all stars, even if for most that means investing a few quid and lending their online endorsement to a project. They can dream too of an “At Home with XXXX” series on a streaming platform.
Retirement has ceased to be a single date, rather a process in which on-field effort segues into off-field activity. Perhaps with a financial bump, perhaps not. Or at least that is the dream.
The reality, of course, is that the public only has so much bandwidth and, as in sport itself, the vast majority will fall short of superstar achievement in their retirement afterlife.
As to on-field implications of this power shift, look no further than England’s self-destructive approach to the final chapter in Ben Stokes’s international saga.
Will we ever know the truth – any truth – behind the captain’s decision to open the batting on Sunday afternoon after his retirement announcement and his team’s cavalier approach to a daunting but not impossible run chase? Could have been a blockbuster. Instead, we’re left with the black hole of ignorance as to what might just have been.
“Obviously it didn’t come off. Stokesy played a hell of an innings, it was cool watching him go out there and let loose.”
Harry Brook
Our friends in the north
As Ben Stokes prepares to play more cricket for Durham and Britain’s next PM trumpets a northwards shift in power, England cricket fans’ attention will shortly turn to ticket sales for next summer’s Ashes.
Trent Bridge will be the most northerly venue in the series at 52.93°N. No Headingley or Old Trafford. Might Andy Burnham fancy championing the northern cricket vote?
Ed Warner is chair of GB Wheelchair Rugby and writes his sport column at sportinc.substack.com