Entertainers, rockstars and riff dudes at Test cricket and frenzy ensues
The night before the Fifth Trial between England and India in Edgbaston, Ben Stokes watched “Elvis,” a biographical drama about rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley. You wouldn’t describe Stokes or his team-mates as cinephiles, although they often make the trip to the movies on Test game week to pass the time. Choosing a film is usually fairly easy, although Stokes’ penchant for horror films can be polarizing. On odd occasions they have taken inspiration from the big screen. During their 2019-20 South Africa tour, they were fascinated by Sam Mendes’ “1917”, about the search for two British soldiers who delivered the message to call off a failed operation. It helped Mendes, a cricket fan, name the three characters after Stokes, Jos Buttler and Alastair Cook. This time around, there aren’t too many cricket references – even if director Baz Luhrmann is Australian – but there are certain moments that touch Stokes’ heart. During the 1950s, Elvis had a reputation as a troublemaker for creatin