Ben Stokes, the architect of England’s red-ball revolution, didn’t merely come to be.
His hard-edged character and swashbuckling strokeplay has been cultivated on the domestic circuit, and Durham's final-ball win over Notts Outlaws in 2012 provided an early indication of the matchwinner he would later become.
An unbeaten 72 from 48 deliveries, including five sixes, saw his side to a much needed victory with Notts in a rich vein of form and Durham at the other end of the Friends Life T20 spectrum.
The Outlaws had been on course to canter to victory on home turf; posting 159/7 after being invited to bat, with James Taylor contributing a 43-ball 54, and the evergreen Alex Hales and Samit Patel providing stoic support.
The case was more true when Harry Gurney - who ended with figures of 3-26 - claimed two powerplay wickets in five deliveries to help reduce Durham to 30/3.
But in Stokes, the Jets had unearthed an unflappable talent. He set about a rearguard with Gareth Breese for company after Steven Mullaney and Graeme White had joined the wicket taking ranks.
The latter made a swift 32, but the match was far from finished. Indeed Durham still needed eight runs from the last over, bowled by David Hussey.
The sight of Stokes in anguish at the non-striker’s end is tattooed into England supporters’ memory, but on this occasion it wasn’t a bespectacled Jack Leach upon whom Stokes was relying, but Michael Richardson.
With scores tied ahead of the final delivery, the pair scampered through to lift Durham off the foot of the table and condemn Nottinghamshire to just their second defeat of the competition.
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