Ben Stokes: The journey of a champion
The ICC World Cup being the most coveted cricketing event of all, offers a great platform where the best cricketers strive hard to achieve greatness for themselves and for their country.
Ben Stokes, the English all-rounder, used that platform in the recently-concluded version of the quadrennial event to the fullest. He ensured not just the first title for his country, but also earned the tag of greatness for himself in the process.
Focused knock in the final
In the final against New Zealand, England needed 171 runs in 30.5 overs when Stokes came in to bat. Right from the word go he appeared to be in control, keeping away all the intimidating factors - the expectations, the home crowd support, the enormity of the situation and the target itself (which looked easy at the start but got increasingly trickier).
After the exit of his captain Eoin Morgan, what the English all-rounder needed was strong support at the other end. And he found it in the form of England's wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler. As the latter is known to play an attacking brand of cricket, Stokes could afford to drop anchor and play the steadying role.
The Stokes-Buttler duo was successful in keeping the unrelenting Kiwi bowling at bay, while not taking any kind of risks. They kept the scoreboard ticking and were able to find odd boundaries whenever they got chances. They also ensured the required run rate was well within reach.
Out of the partnership of 110 runs Buttler played the big-brother role, scoring 59 off 60 deliveries. Meanwhile, Stokes seemed to be happy to play second fiddle and ensured that he negotiated tough deliveries successfully. On a couple of occasions he even found himself off-balance while facing toe-crushing yorkers, but he held firm.
When Buttler departed, England needed 46 off 31 balls. There wasn't much time to regroup and the situation demanded Stokes to go all out. But thanks to England's deep batting line-up Stokes had the luxury of continuing the no-risk approach and chose to take the battle deeper.
With 15 needed off the last over and just two wickets in hand, Stokes took everything on himself - even denying a single on the first ball of the over. But what happened in the next five deliveries might have found its place already in folk-lore.
A dot ball, a catch turned to a six, a much debated over-throw caused by a deflection from his own diving hands and two consecutive run-outs of his partners at the non-striking end (while coming back for the second run) meant Stokes was successful in averting the defeat and taking the battle to the super over.
Here's another look at that game-changing overthrow:
With the task not finished yet, Stokes came in to bat in the Super Over as well, scoring a crucial 8 out of the 15 runs that England managed. When his colleague Jofra Archer restricted the opponents to the same tally of 15 runs, Stokes joyously fell on his back as England had edged out the Kiwis by the virtue of better boundary count (26-17).
That lion-hearted performance from Stokes won him the title "Player of the final" award. It also helped him erase the unpleasant memories of the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 final against West Indies at Kolkata.
On that fateful night, after being given the task of defending 19 runs in the last over to seal the title, Stokes ended up sitting distraught. He was hit for four consecutive sixes by towering Windies batsman Carlos Brathwaite, and West Indies won the title.
Redemption at last
The unbeaten 84-run knock against the Kiwis was the perfect culmination of the English all-rounder's efforts in the tournament. He had already played similar knocks twice in the league phase, but was not able to take his team home on either occasion.
In the league match against Sri Lanka, when the English batsmen made a mess out of the modest target of 233, Stokes stood firm at one end. He took the battle deep and at one stage threatened to take the game away from the Lankans.
But he ran out of partners and was left stranded at one end at the score of 82. His team fell short of the target by just 21 runs, with three overs still remaining to be bowled in their innings.
In England's next league match after the loss to Sri Lanka, Stokes played another cracker of a knock against arch-rivals Australia. Chasing a bigger total of 285 in that match, the 28-year-old was the only batsman who defied against the lethal Kangaroo bowling attack.
After scoring an enterprising 89 off 115 balls Stokes was done in by the full length yorker from Aussie quick Mitchell Starc. After his dismissal, the rest of the England batting was bundled out for the total score of 221, falling short of the target by 64 runs.
Tough challenge ahead
Unfortunately, Stokes and the rest of the England team can't afford to celebrate the World Cup glory for long as another coveted event - the Ashes - will start from 1 August. After the success in the elite 50-over event, the expectations of the English fans from their team and Stokes in particular will be sky high.
Stokes, who missed the previous contest in Australia because of the legal issues he was facing after the drunken brawl incident of 2017, will be eager and hungry to make his mark in the prestigious five-match Test series.
If the English southpaw succeeds in clinching back the urn for his country, he would be forever remembered and revered as a champion and legend who brought England two of the greatest cricketing glories - the 50-over World Cup and the Ashes - in the span of just four months.