HAVING started the year taking out his frustrations on a dressing-room locker, Ben Stokes finished it punching the air in delight as he celebrated Durham’s sixth major trophy in the last eight seasons. Transformations don’t come much more pronounced than that.

This has been a challenging year for Stokes, a 23-year-old whose talent can often appear boundless even if his temperament can occasionally be a reminder of the constraints of his youth. Having been the only England player to enhance his reputation during last winter’s disastrous tour of Australia, the all-rounder struggled for form in the Caribbean this spring, culminating in his altercation with the dressing-room furnishings that forced him to sit out the start of the domestic season.

His summer Test form was a huge disappointment, with three ducks in the space of two matches resulting in his demotion from the side, and while a marked improvement in the second half of the summer led to him being awarded his first central contract last week, he still went in to Saturday’s Royal London Cup final at Lord’s looking to end a traumatic spell in style.

Two wickets as Warwickshire limped to 165 all out was a decent way to start, but it was the gritty unbeaten 38 at a crucial stage of Durham’s reply that ultimately saw him named Man of the Match as his side triumphed by three wickets.

Not one for triumphalism despite his somewhat explosive personality, Stokes was keen to downplay any sense of personal achievement in order to accentuate the team ethic. Nevertheless, for one so young, he has displayed commendable resolve to shrug off this year’s multiple challenges in order to serve up a glorious finale.

“I'm just thrilled that I've been part of a team to win another title for Durham,” said Stokes, who was picked up by his adopted home county after moving to Cockermouth from his birthplace of New Zealand at the age of 12. “Whether I've had a brilliant season or a stinking season, to walk away with a trophy I'd be happy either way.”

That same sense of satisfaction was etched on the face of each and every Durham player, and while it has become something of a cliché for major sportsmen and women to extol their dressing-room spirit and sense of camaraderie, this is a Durham squad containing a core of players who have grown up together.

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That engenders a shared sense of resolve during the difficult spells and accentuates the joy when things go right, and you only had to stand outside the Durham dressing room in the aftermath of Saturday’s victory, listening to the refrains of the Blaydon Races, to appreciate the extent to which this a team that appreciates its constituent parts.

“We've been around a long time now and know how everyone plays cricket and know everyone's personalities,” said Stokes. “We're not just colleagues, we're mates as well, and I think that goes a long way towards being a successful team.”

You still need match-winners in the middle of course, and having blasted Durham into this weekend’s final thanks to a remarkable display of hitting against Nottinghamshire in the semi-finals, it was a much more circumspect Stokes who put on 36 runs in an unbroken eighth-wicket stand with Gareth Breese to steer his side to victory.

After Paul Collingwood and Gordon Muchall departed in relatively quick succession, there was a risk of Durham collapsing with the winning line in sight, but displaying the kind of restraint that is not always associated with his batting, Stokes eked out 38 runs from 59 balls to secure victory.

There was still the occasional flourish, most notably via a remarkable reverse sweep from Jeetan Patel’s final over – “my heart wasn’t it in my mouth - but I think the lads’ on the balcony were” – but on the whole, Stokes displayed a maturity that can only have impressed the England selectors.

The irony is that the more he catches the eye with England, the less opportunities he will have to play for Durham, and when Jon Lewis sits down this winter to map out his plans for next summer, he will have to do so with Stokes removed from the equation.

That is the reality of life in the county game, but just as Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison were able to remain integral parts of the Durham set-up while they were enjoying long and successful international careers, so there is no reason why Stokes’ bond with his domestic side should diminish as his England commitments increase.

“I love playing for Durham,” he said. “I've enjoyed every single game I've played for Durham, and to walk away from here as champions is fantastic.”