Ben Stokes took a cigarette break to calm his nerves before the Super Over in the 2019 World Cup final
Star all-rounder Ben Stokes took a ‘cigarette break’ to calm his nerves ahead of the Super Over in the 2019 World Cup final, as per a book on England's triumph.
On the first anniversary of the most dramatic World Cup final ever played, anecdotes from a book called 'Morgan's Men: The Inside Story of England's Rise from Cricket World Cup Humiliation to Glory' talk about the pressure that Ben Stokes felt in those last few moments of the game.
"Finding a quiet spot as the frenzy of the Super Over approached was hard in a ground packed out with 27,000 supporters and television cameras following the players from the middle, through the Long Room and up the stairs to the dressing room," authors Nick Hoult and Steve James wrote.
"But Ben Stokes had played at Lord's many times. He knows every nook and cranny. As Eoin Morgan tries to bring calm to the England dressing room and sort out their tactics, Stokes nips off for a moment of peace.
"He is covered in dirt and sweat. He has batted for two hours and 27 minutes of unbelievable tension. What does Stokes do? He goes to the back of the England dressing room, past the attendant's little office and into the showers. There he lights up a cigarette and has few minutes on his own."
Ben Stokes was the Man of the Match
In the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand, Ben Stokes was adjudged the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 84, which was followed by another eight runs in the Super Over.
Exactly a year ago on this day, England claimed their maiden 50 over World Cup title after beating the Blackcaps by virtue of a boundary count rule as even the Super Over couldn't separate the two sides. It was undoubtedly one of the most dramatic and nail-biting World Cup finals in history.