THE REDEMPTION OF BEN STOKES

 

Image Credit: CricInfo.

Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne [November 13, 2022].

In June 2026, Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket. It came as a shock to everyone because Stokes was in his prime and could have continued captaining England for at least the upcoming Ashes Series. Many, including former England Captain Michael Vaughan, believe that the same has happened because of ECB's insensitive behavior in the curfew scandal. Whatever the reason might be behind the retirement, the fact is that the cricketing world has been left with a void hard to fill. Moreover, Stokes' performance in the country cricket post-retirement had made everyone wonder why, on earth, this player is not playing in the England shirt. After all, Ben Stokes is a once-in-a-generation player. A perfect all-rounder who has won games for his team both by bat and ball. Apart from that, Stokes has also proved to be a wonderful test captain who did revolutionize test cricket with a style which we call 'Bazball'.

But, just like every sportsman, Stokes's journey has not been full of beds of roses. No one could ever forget Carlos Brathwaite's final over heroics in Kolkata wherein he smashed Stokes for four consecutive sixes and won the T20 World Cup for his side. It was literally a heartbreaking moment for Stokes. Moreover, Stoksy went through depression in 2021, which made him pull back from international cricket.

However, in 2022 Stokes came back harder. Firstly, he took over as the Test Captaincy of a struggling England side and made them a formidable force. A few months later he delivered his finest performance in one of the biggest stages. England were facing Pakistan in the finals of the T20 World Cup at the historic MCG. The men in green posted a below-par total of 137/8 in their 20 overs [Credit goes to Sam Curran, who bowled a match-winning spell of 3-12 in 4 overs]. However, the Pakistanis had a strong pace line-up which could rattle any side on their day. But this is when Ben Stokes came into action.

Mind you, at one stage the game did tilt towards Pakistan, as in their opening spell they did blow away the English top-order [The seamers were getting help from the pitch, and the batting did become difficult]. However, Stokes, along with Moeen Ali, stitched a match-winning partnership of 48 runs and won their country a second T20 title. Stoksy, who is known for his aggressive batting, played according to the situation and took the match deep. On the other hand, Ali played attacking cricket as England reached closer to the target. Unfortunately, Ali got bowled out when they needed just 6 runs to win. But Stokes stood his ground and ended up hitting the winning runs. 

Stoksy, who was held responsible for the defeat of 2016, ended up becoming the hero in 2022 as he scored an unbeaten 52 of 49 deliveries with English chasing down the target in 19 overs. The redemption was well and truly complete.

A month later, Captain Stokes and his side whitewashed Pakistan in a 3-match test series in Pakistan. Something which has never happened before. Moreover, for his heroics, Stokes was also awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. 

Indeed, a perfect end to a memorable year.