England vs New Zealand: Ben Stokes lauded as ‘almost superhuman’ after World Cup heroics
Stokes' efforts saw the hosts fight back from the brink to take the match to a super over in which England secured victory by one run
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Your support makes all the difference.Ben Stokes was labelled “almost superhuman” as he inspired England to World Cup glory for the first time after a thrilling conclusion to their final against New Zealand at Lord’s.
England’s chances of overhauling New Zealand’s 241 for eight seemed to be forlorn but under the utmost pressure, Stokes held his nerve to contribute an unbeaten 84 to leave the scores tied at the end of a dramatic 100 overs.
Despite showing clear signs of fatigue, Stokes returned to bat in a super over, putting on 15 alongside Jos Buttler.
There was a further twist in the tale when Jimmy Neesham and Martin Guptill took 14 from Jofra Archer’s first five balls.
But scampering back for a second from the final delivery of the match, Guptill was short of his ground after Jason Roy’s throw from deep midwicket enabled Buttler to lop off the bails, giving England victory by the unlikely method of registering more boundaries across a riveting contest.
That would have been inconceivable without Stokes’ efforts, with England captain Eoin Morgan in no doubt as to the significance of his talismanic all-rounder’s contribution.
Morgan said: “To come through it is extraordinary. He’s almost superhuman. He has really carried the team and our batting line-up.
“To bat with the lower order the way he did, I thought was incredible. He managed to deal with the emotion and atmosphere in an incredibly experienced manner.
“Hopefully everyone watching at home will try to be the next Ben Stokes.”
Stokes’ previous final in an England shirt ended in heartbreak when he conceded four successive sixes as the freewheeling Carlos Brathwaite secured the World Twenty20 crown for the West Indies in 2016.
Morgan added: “A lot of careers would have been ended after what happened in Kolkata. But Ben has stood up individually, and in the unit for us, a huge number of times since then.
“Here he’s had a huge day out, and we’re thankful for that.”
Stokes recognised the magnitude of the finale, watched on by 30,000 at the home of cricket, a mass gathering at Trafalgar Square and a bumper audience, swelled by being broadcast on free-to-air television.
At the presentation ceremony, he said: “I’m pretty lost for words. All the hard work that’s gone in over these four years, this is where we aspired to be.
“To do it with such a game, I don’t think there will be another like this in the history of cricket.
“The lads, in this one-day team, the Test team, my family, their support has been massive. Now I’m just looking forward to tonight.”
Following his exertions with the bat, Stokes even had some wise words for Archer in the heat of battle.
The young paceman said: “Stokesy came over and told me, win or lose, today will not define me as a player.”
PA
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