Captain Alastair Cook hailed Cumbrian Ben Stokes as a once in a generation cricketer after the all-rounder bowled England to victory in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

England went into the final morning needing two Bangladesh wickets to win the First Test of the series, while the hosts were only 33 runs away from what would have been a historic upset.

But Stokes, from Cockermouth, came to the rescue for Cook's men by dismissing Taijul Islam and Shafiul Islam in the space of three balls.

The 25-year-old had already taken 4-26 in the first innings and scored a mature 85 from 151 balls to ensure England left a testing victory target of 286, which proved tantalisingly out of Bangladesh's reach.

And Cook was delighted with Stokes' contribution.

"It's not just ball in hand, it's the way he's batted. He balances the side," Cook told Sky Sports 2 at the end of his England-record 134th Test appearance.

"It allows us to play the extra seamer in these conditions.

"These cricketers don't come around very often. He might have a lot of skill and all that talent but he's got enormous heart, as well.

"You try and take the ball off him and saying we'll bowl short spells and he wants to bowl seven or eight [overs].

"So he can be a bit of a handful to captain that way but I'd rather have him that way - he's a seriously good cricketer."

After Stokes picked up his man-of-the-match award, he insisted his performance must become a benchmark for the rest of the winter, with England following the second game in Dhake with five Tests in India.

"It's a long winter from here," he said. "Hopefully this is just a starting point.

"Hopefully, I can start putting in some more performances with bat and ball on a more consistent basis."

Stokes insisted he wanted to play in all seven Tests this winter, despite England's stated policy of rotating their bowlers - and it would take a brave captain and coach to tell him he's being rested.

The Cumbrian also struck his maiden ODI century in Bangladesh in the three-match ODI Series, which England won 2-1, before the start of the Test series.

Stokes was ruled out of the final two Tests during the summer in the drawn series against Pakistan with a calf strain.

But he returned to action, with Durham, on T20 Finals Day, as he proved his fitness to the England selectors ahead of a busy winter.

Stokes was just one of four players to have been named in both the Test and one-day England squads for the tour and was named the England one-day vice-captain for the tour, too.