It's been a blast," says Ben Stokes.
Summer of 2019 has been glorious for England cricket and it has shown that nothing is beyond Ben Stokes.
ICC World Cup 2019, England were playing their first match against South Africa at the Oval. Morgan passed the ball to Adil Rashid in the 34th over, Phehlukwayo sweeped towards deep midwicket where Ben Stokes took a fantastic catch and set the path for something special for England.
In Leeds Sri Lanka sprung a serious upset, where Stokes did his best and almost pulled off a brilliant chase by scoring 82 runs in just 89 balls. That was a wake-up call for the host. And England was set to play their next 3 games against the favourites. England did not rouse from their slumber at Lord’s four days later as Australia beat England at the home of cricket. Afterwards, England defeated India and New Zealand in the group stage to reach Semi-finals and took a sweet revenge from Australia by beating them with 8 Wickets in their hand.
The saying of 'Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man' could not have been more suitable for Stokes.
In the final Stokes was set to play against the country where he was born in. Stokes with the help of Buttler took the match deeper and with 15 runs required of last 4 balls it really called for a miracle. Stokes goes for a maximum and then the most crucial and essential moment of the match came. The cricketing world wasn't prepared for that outcome. Stokes played the ball towards deep midwicket where Guptill was standing, throw from deep got reflected from Stokes bat and it went for a boundary. No one in the world saw that coming. 6 runs were added and 3 runs were required off 2 deliveries after 2 successive run-outs in 2 deliveries, the match went into the super-over. The super over also ended with a tie. However, England were crowned the Champions on the boundary count. It’s a very complicated story as England won the world cup without winning it.
The self-belief and maturity shown by Ben Stokes and temperament to stay cool under tough situations with run-scoring abilities helped England to dominate the world and won the world cup for the first time.
But this was not enough for England as they relinquished the Ashes to Australia on home soil but did not loose the series. Behind all this, there was same bloke standing tall.
England were 1-0 down with 3 matches still remaining. They were facing the challenge of Steve Smith's patience and confidence which was never seen before. In Headingley England were on the verge of loosing the ashes. They were reduced to 286-9, stokes with the help of Jack Leach shared a partnership of 76. In which Nathan Layon missed a run-out and the very next ball Australia were denied an LBW. Stokes scored 135 runs as the Ten Englishman agreed, one refused, stood around survived, survived run-out, survived umpiring error but survived to script the greatest moment of his life. Australia retained the ashes with a victory in old Trafford but England's grit and courage ensured they didn't loose a series at home to Australia.
However, before all this, Ben Stokes was facing the charges of assault and was side-lined from England team for one year. But he didn't give up and rose like a barbarian.
In the entire course of the five months, Stokes was the one who put England in the contest every single time and ensured that the summer of 2019 for English cricket remains unforgettable in their history.
Also Read | Best Ben stokes ODI Innings
