MELBOURNE: Ben Stokes started the T20 World Cup with his place in the England team questioned but he held his nerve in a pulsating final in Melbourne on Sunday to lead the side to glory.
Stokes chose the grand occasion in front of 80,000 baying fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to score his maiden Twenty20 international fifty and take England past Pakistan’s 137-8 to win by five wickets with six balls to spare.
For the talismanic England Test captain and hero of the 50-over World Cup final in 2019, it was redemption after he suffered 2016 T20 World Cup final misery in Kolkata.
Six years ago he had been given the task of bowling the last six balls with West Indies needing 19 to win, only for Carlos Brathwaite to smash four successive sixes to give the men from the Caribbean their second title.
That chastening experience may have destroyed a lesser player but not Stokes, who learned from it and now saves his best for those pressure-cooker moments.
“That man again. Ben Stokes is there at the end,” said England captain Jos Buttler.
The charismatic 31-year-old entered cricket folklore with his exploits in the final of the 50-over World Cup at Lord’s against New Zealand three years ago, which ended with a dramatic super over.
Not content with that, just weeks later he made a scarcely believable match-winning 135 not out in England’s one-wicket win over Australia in the third Test at Headingley after they had been skittled for 67 in their first innings.
Stokes was given the Test captaincy earlier this year, replacing his friend Joe Root and immediately turned England into an attacking, winning machine, celebrating six victories in seven Tests against New Zealand, India and South Africa.
And Buttler believes Stokes is “in the conversation” when it comes to considering the nation’s greatest ever cricketers.
“We are immensely lucky to have him. He is one of the great players of English cricket,” Buttler said.
A jubilant Buttler also praised coach Matthew Mott, with the Australian completing a rare double with his adopted nation’s triumph over Pakistan.
The 49-year-old had previously coached Australia’s women to a stunning success over India in the women’s T20 World Cup at the MCG in 2020 before accepting the role with England in May this year.
As a result of their victory, England is the first nation to hold both World Cups in tandem.
Buttler said meticulous preparation, which included an away series triumph over Pakistan leading into the World Cup, built up England’s confidence.
England’s World Cup hopes hung in the balance after a shock loss to Ireland at the MCG in a rain-affected match in the group stages, but they held their nerve and rallied strongly.
“This is the icing on the cake to win the T20 World Cup. [I’m] just immensely proud,” Buttler said.
“Ever since the Ireland game, the way we showed great character in must-win games, we just got better and better.”
