No sooner had the polls closed than the recriminations could begin. Horror and dismay at Katarina Johnson‑Thompson HQ. Rumours that Dina Asher-Smith would announce her resignation as early as Monday morning. Sources in the Lewis Hamilton campaign briefing that their candidate’s tax policy had gone down disastrously on the doorstep. Back in the studio, meanwhile, white-haired psephologists feverishly picked over the historic implications of the vote, and in particular the crumbling of Alun Wyn Jones’s “red wall”.
Well, maybe not. And yet, as the ticker tape tumbled in Aberdeen, as Ben Stokes clutched the Sports Personality of the Year trophy in his meaty hands, we were again reminded that public opinion is a strange little egg, a slavering argot that you try to decrypt at your own peril. It was, we were immediately told via England and Wales Cricket Board press release, a seismic moment not just for Stokes but for the entire sport. A triumph to inspire the next generation. And coming 14 years since Andrew Flintoff in 2005, the last cricketer to win the award, Stokes’s coronation certainly felt like a vindication of something. But what, exactly?
Related: Ben Stokes’ modesty stands in sharp contrast to bloated show
The question English cricket needs to answer is whether this is a transformative moment or a cameo in the spotlight
Related: England cricketer Ben Stokes wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year award
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