Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes: England's Tale of the Tortoise and the Hare

Contrasting centuries from Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes bailed England out of a spot of bother on the fourth day of the first Test against New Zealand.

Captain Cook, a man who barely breaks a sweat and rarely takes the handbrake off when at the crease, slowly but surely worked his way to three figures.

Stokes, in contrast, was the polar opposite to his skipper. Aggressive and full of intent from the outset, he blasted his way to the fastest Test hundred Lord’s has ever seen, as Sky Sports confirmed on Twitter:

England’s version of the tortoise and the hare was not involved in one of Aesop's famous fables. There was no race between them to reach the landmark, simply because the tortoise had a huge head start. 

In fact, Stokes was not even off the mark by the time Cook was celebrating a 27th Test century and a first at cricket HQ since June 2011.

Still, it seemed the Durham all-rounder was on a mission to not only catch up with his team-mate but also even speed past him.

He dominated the 132-run stand for the fifth English wicket that put the Kiwis on the back foot, Cook ending up almost a silent partner as he contributed a mere 24 runs to it.

Stokes took all of 85 deliveries to make it to his ton. Only one player for England had done it quicker: Gilbert Jessop took 76 balls to achieve the feat against Australia in 1902, per S Rajesh of ESPN Cricinfo.

The 23-year-old admitted afterwards to Sky Sports that fortune had favoured the brave, particularly during a must-watch period of play that saw New Zealand's seamers, and Tim Southee in particular, pepper him with short deliveries that he continuously took on despite men being posted in the deep:

"

I rode my luck a bit I guess with a couple of top edges but I guess you need a bit of luck to succeed.

Things just went my way all day.

I was pretty nervous when I was in the nineties again, but to get that one away was a pretty special feeling and to do it at the home of cricket as well was fantastic and it's something I'll never forget.

"

It was against Australia that Stokes had made his previous Test ton, hitting 120 in a losing cause in Perth.

This, though, was an innings that came when his team really needed him. When he arrived at the crease, New Zealand must have still fancied their chances of victory. When he departed the field to a standing ovation after falling for 101, England were within touching distance of safety.

His knock was also a personal triumph, particularly after he had made 92 in the first innings before being bowled by off-spinner Mark Craig when offering no stroke.

But, on both occasions, his positivity had helped dig England out of a serious hole. On Day 1 he had walked out to a scoreboard that read 30 for four and proceeded to add 161 in a hurry with Joe Root.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press/Associated Press

Stoke has flattered to deceive since bursting onto the scene during that disastrous Ashes tour of 2013/14. But, pushed up to bat at six at the start of what is a huge summer, he has now delivered twice when England desperately needed him to.

The New Zealand-born all-rounder launched three sixes to go with his 15 fours during a brutal display of clean hitting.

As Michael Atherton told Sky Sports: "It was a real 'I was there' day for those of us watching Ben Stokes. In years to come people will say, 'were you there on the day that he scored the fastest Test hundred at Lord’s?'"

Cook, meanwhile, simply carried on accumulating runs right through to the close.

The opener carried his bat through the day to finish up unbeaten on 153 not out, putting his team into a lead of 295. It is sizeable, but still not quite enough to be safe just yet.

There is no more talk about Cook’s place being under threat now, though, not after he’s wracked up two hundred and two half-centuries in his last six Test knocks.

The tortoise-like Cook will look to keep on plodding along on the final morning of the match, slowly and steadily leading England to a position where the worst possible outcome they can achieve in the contest is a draw.