Ben Stokes buries World T20 demons after leading England to maiden World Cup win
England all-rounder Ben Stokes buried his World Cup demons with a man-of-the-match performance in the final but his New Zealand father questioned the victory.
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World Cup hero Ben Stokes was declared “almost superhuman” after he delivered England an unforgettable trophy with 30 minutes of heroics that will never be topped.
Stokes mixed batting brutality with the luck of “Allah” – according to Muslim teammate Adil Rashid – and “the Irish” – according to captain Eoin Morgan – to pound 40 runs from his last 16 balls to break New Zealand hearts as England prevailed on a boundary countback.
However, Stokes’ New Zealand father has questioned the boundary countback rule, believing the trophy should have been shared.
Gerard Stokes, a former Kiwis rugby league international, was immensely proud of his son’s man-of-the-match role in the dramatic decider at Lord’s.
“I’m not sure about something that important hanging on that,” Stokes Snr told the New Zealand Herald.
“They could have shared the trophy but that doesn’t seem to be how things are done these days.”
“It has to be one of the greatest cricket games ever played, but I think it’s a shame there has to be a loser.”
Stokes registered two of the most fortunate sixes in cricket history to drag England into a Super Over and then cracked eight runs from three balls as the tiebreaker was tied again, enforcing the countback.
The first came as he was caught by Trent Boult only for the star bowler to tread on the rope while the second came when Martin Guptill’s throw deflected off his bat and rolled to the rope in the final over.
That slice of luck left England requiring two runs from the final two balls to tie the game, instead of six, and Stokes scampered home for two singles as partners Adil Rashid and Mark Wood were run-out at the non-striker’s end for diamond ducks.
It capped the ultimate redemption story for Stokes, who was found not guilty of affray just 11 months ago following a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub.
Stokes tilted his head back and shut his eyes in a quiet moment of relief at that verdict, and screamed loudly and guzzled champagne as England’s 44-year wait for a World Cup finally ended.
The electrifying allrounder bookended the tournament with moments of greatness, having taken a catch for the ages in the opening match against South Africa.
Stokes, 28, was unbeaten on 84 (98) after England equaled New Zealand’s 8/241 after 50 overs and hit eight more from three Trent Boult deliveries in the super over.
“To come through it is extraordinary. He’s almost superhuman,” captain Eoin Morgan said.
“He really carried the team and our batting line-up. I know Jos (Buttler) and his partnership was extraordinary, but to bat with the lower order the way he did I thought was incredible.
“The atmosphere, the emotion that was going through the whole game, he managed to deal with that in an extremely experienced manner.
“And obviously everybody watching at home will hopefully try and be the next Ben Stokes.”
Stokes, who was born in Christchurch and relocated to northern England when he was 12, took Boult and Jimmy Neesham apart in the clutch moments to wash away generations of English misery.
Media clapped their hands red at Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson’s class after he refused to dwell on the misfortune.
“The rule (the deflection off Stokes’ bat for an extra four runs) has been there for a long time,” Williamson said.
“I don’t think anything like that’s happened where you now question it. But you can’t sort of look at that and think that perhaps that decided the match.
“There were so many other bits and pieces to that game that were so important. When it comes down to a tie, you start looking at every single delivery, don’t you?
“It was a pretty tough pill to swallow that when we were looking pretty likely with Trent bowling really, really well.”
Originally published as Ben Stokes buries World T20 demons after leading England to maiden World Cup win
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