Ben Stokes should be knighted. No, Ben Stokes is the king of the world. Nathan Lyon fumbling the ball and messing up the run-out chance was of course karmic payback for his brazen comments about wanting to end English cricketers' careers two years ago. Joel Wilson is the Grinch who stole the Aussie Christmas and thus Christmas does not count and should be cancelled. England should only play cricket on Sundays.

You might think that the cricket world is getting carried away. You might think by the reactions that the cricket world has lost its ability to think rationally. And so it should. It was that kind of knock from Stokes. It was that kind of Test match at Leeds. Let's indulge a bit more, a lot more, in the next couple of days in stretching our limits for hyperbole and exaggeration to acknowledge the enormity of what Stokes pulled off at Headingley. We kind of owe it to him.

The dust will settle though, even on the Headingley heist. The Ashes aren't won or lost yet. Maybe it's a good thing Stokes decided to do what he did at Leeds and not at Lord's. No, not just because Lord's and the MCC members have already had their hearts spend enough time in their respective mouths. But it's because we now have some breathing space between now and Manchester to let sink in what we transpired at Leeds and maybe get a more lucid perspective of it all.

While even some of the most high-profile voices in our sport have anointed Stokes' knock as the greatest they have seen. It's been done in the heat of the moment. Stokes' logic-defying assault at Headingley might not even be the best Test knock of the year, forget the last six months. Before Stokes came Kusal Perera. And the little Sri Lankan was taking on the might of the South African pace attack in their den having flown there from Australia, where his team had been clobbered into the dust by the Aussies. Stokes might have done the unthinkable. But there have been many batsmen before him like Perera, especially Perera, who've helped stretched the limits of our imagination in the past. And yes umpire Wilson actually had a 7-1 record against DRS in the Test even if he might have, according to some experts, got the lbw decision against Stokes slightly wrong. It still wasn't a howler by all accounts.

Many have already gone ahead and declared the Headingley encounter as having been the greatest Test of all time. But was it really? It was certainly the kind of game that will reinvigorate an already fervent interest for Test cricket-just look at the crowds that have shown up on every day of the series so far-in this country. But once the shock value and the image of Stokes pulling off the miracle begins to wear off, will we still agree that there's never ever been a Test match better than this one in the 140-years since this sport has existed? We'll see. But for now, though we do have the license to stay over-excited for a while about the Stokes show and the multitude of glorious events that culminated with him punching Pat Cummins through the covers for four.

The 10-day break will also give the shell-shocked Aussies the mental space to hopefully recover from having missed out narrowly on having already retained the Ashes urn. They'll need it too. While the English savour their amazing win, the Aussies won't mind being away from the limelight-staying in Nottingham and traveling to Derby for the tour match-for a while. Like coach Justin Langer has admitted already, they have lots of "serious questions" over a number of areas that they will hope to be answered in the coming days. Steve Smith will be back. But so will James Anderson for England. And if this series hasn't kept us on tenterhooks already, it promises to get only better with the two of the most successful players across both teams set to return for the remaining two Tests. There's been some talk about how despite this series being poised 1-1 after three Tests just like the famous 2005 Ashes, it hasn't quite matched up to 14 years ago, purely because the cricket's not been of the same high quality. Who better than Smith and Anderson to put that right and bridge any supposed gap in terms of talent and eminence between now and then.

You'd think the final call on where cricket's ultimate Testmania in Headingley will sit in the annals of "great" Test matches will depend on what happens from this point on at Old Trafford and The Oval. Will we be still harping on about Stokes and Jack Leach come September 16 if the Aussies manage to shake off Leeds and get back to the plan they've come here with? Will we for that matter be doing so if England managed to use the momentum they've certainly gained from this victory and go on to win another Ashes series at home?

This is not to say the impact of Stokes in Headingley would have fizzled out by then. That seems as improbable as England's chances going into Day 4. That'll stay for a long time still. There has been no dearth of direct comparisons made between Stokes '19 and Botham '81 at Headingley. But Botham's Test gave rise to Botham's Ashes because England won the series. Stokes' Test has for now only brought England back in the series. His contributions till this stage, the Leeds knock included, do already warranty an Ashes being named after him. There was the second innings century at Lord's too if you've forgotten and the tireless spells he bowled at Leeds. But it won't be the same if England do not win the Ashes from here. It won't mean the same for Australia either if they eventually go on to win their first series here in 18 years. The Manchester Test though is still well over a week away. And we can start getting ready for it and go back to thinking straight a few days later. So let's not stop salivating at the prospect of watching the highlights package one more time, with or without Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child playing in the background.

Move over 2005, 2019 is here. Ban contact lenses. Only glasses are cool henceforth, especially if accompanied by a wipe-cloth. Oh and of course Stokes is the new Botham. No, Botham was just Stokes before Stokes came along. It's all true.