England captain Jos Butler sang Ben Stokes ’ praises and claimed he is in the conversation to be considered England’s greatest ever player.
After West Indies star Carlos Brathwaite smashed four sixes off his bowling in the 2016 championship match, the 31-year-old secured redemption by leading his side to victory against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final. His score of 52 not out anchored the innings as the Barmy Army chased down 137 with an over to spare and won by five wickets.
With the ball Stokes also produced 1-32 off his four overs as England stifled the Pakistan batting lineup at the MCG and the skipper was delighted with his performance. “He always stands up in the biggest moments,” Buttler gushed. “He’s a man who can take a lot of pressure on his shoulders and perform. With him in the middle, you know you’ve got a good chance.
“He’s a true match-winner and he’s been there in those scenarios time and time again. He just has a lot of know-how for how to do that. It certainly wasn’t his most fluent innings or he probably didn’t time the ball as well as he can, but we knew he was never going to go down without a fight and stand up and be there at the end.
“We’re immensely lucky to have him, he’s one of the great players of English cricket and he can be in the conversation for sure (to be regarded as England’s greatest cricketer of all-time).” Sam Curran took incredible figures of three for 12 from four overs and was named player of the match. However he claimed the award should have been given to Stokes.
“I don’t think I should be getting this, I think Ben Stokes should get this [POTM],” he said. His haul represented the best ever from a fast bowler in a T20 World Cup final as he went on to take 13 wickets at an average of 11.38, which earned Curran the player of the tournament award. “Big square boundaries, so I knew my into wicket bowling would work with big boundaries. I mixed it up with slower balls to make it tough for the batter," he added.
After some tight bowling from Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes, England began chasing 138 in front of a raucous crowd. But with an impressive bowling lineup featuring the likes of the electric seamers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, along with the nifty leg break spinner Shadab Khan, England fell to 45-3 and 84-4.
But, under intense pressure at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Stokes wrote himself further into the folklore of English cricket with his unbeaten half century as he provided another significant contribution to another monumental win for the team.
Back in 1992, when England faced Pakistan in the World Cup final at the same venue in Melbourne, Imran Khan and co got the better of Graham Gooch and his men. But three decades later and in a different format of the game, England emerged victorious and became the first side to hold both the 50-over and 20-over world titles at the same time.
England also joined West Indies as the only sides to have won the T20 World Cup twice, after winning their maiden trophy on Caribbean soil back in 2010.
