Picture : Twitter/ ICC
England’s all- rounder Ben Stokes is toast of the three lions these days .And why not? He has been simply unstoppable in the middle with his game changing attributes . Be it bowling, batting, fielding, you cannot keep Ben Stokes out of the action.
He became a national hero for the second time in just over a month ( 2019 ICC World Cup final against New Zealand) when his astounding 135 not out saw England to an incredible one-wicket win in the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Sunday. The win levels the Ashes at 1-1 with two matches to go. Stokes heroics shocked Australia who were just a wicket away to go 2-0 up in the series.
Australia skipper Tim Paine lauded Ben Stokes for his Headingley heroics. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/rgM1Zz2prY
— ICC (@ICC) August 26, 2019
Stokes’s ball-striking that yielded 11 fours and eight soaring sixes was impressive but so too was the maturity he demonstrated during five-and-a-half hours at the crease, with the all-rounder taking 50 balls to score his first two runs on Saturday when it was vital England, then three down, did not lose any more wickets.
Chasing a mammoth 359 in the fourth innings, Stokes hit a flurry of boundaries during his knock of 135 not out in a remarkable last-wicket stand of 76 with Jack Leach, who scored just one run, to pull off a nail-biting one-wicket victory on the fourth day.
England’s hopes appeared to be over as they lost five wickets for 31 runs, and Leach was at the crease with 73 still required.
But Stokes put up a dogged fight and moved to his hundred with a superb display of power-hitting and innovation to enable the home side register perhaps the greatest chase in Ashes history.
