Ben Stokes- A tale of ODI legend

July 24, 2022 | Shikhu Gyawali 3.2K Reads

Ben Stokes, the name which comes to everyone's mind when someone talks about the Cricket World Cup 2019 Final. The man is responsible for England's first-ever One Day world cup win. But Ben Stokes is not all about the player in the field. one man who had a lot had many and a lot of impacts on English Cricket.

Ben Stokes is mysterious. He is bold, confident, and aggressive. Yet he manages himself to be cool, composed, and down to earth. He is one of this generation's most(arguably the most) talented cricketers. He has achieved many highs, from winning the world cup for England and winning the Wisden Cricketer of the year in 2019. This guy has seen the extreme lows in his career as well, from conceding four consecutive sixes to Carlos Brathwaite in a losing cause of ICC WT20 final 2016 to getting himself in the street fight outside of the bar in 2017. From being the most controversial cricketer in England to silently taking a mental break for 5 months, Ben Stokes has been there and done everything.

He retired himself from ODI on July 18, citing the tight white ball schedule and his workload as England's test skipper. The man who had won the most prestigious cup of Cricket retired himself at the age of 31 when most cricketers are at their peak. Even though he retired at a very young age, he has done something that many English greats hadn't done before. The impact of Ben Stokes is at the highest of stakes when it comes to English Cricket. Not only did he win the world cup in 2019, but he brought that confidence and buildup among his teammates' winning mentality to action.

Not only Ben Stokes has contributed to English Cricket but the Board, Captain Morgan, and the management had quite wonderful support for him. England backed him at his lows, supported him in his worst days, gave him needed time, and always helped when he needed the most. It wouldn't have been possible for the guy who got hit for 4 sixes in a row in the final of World T20 2016 to be a man of the match in the world cup final 2019 without the support of the Board.

Ben Stokes not only helped England on the field but made people of England get back to cricket from other sports like football. In 2019, England reported a record 1.6m spectators for the England domestic and international matches outside of CWC fixtures, which couldn't have been possible if England had not won the world cup.

England has seen many stars like Ian Botham, Freddie Flintoff, and Kevin Pietersen but their spirit remained limited in test cricket and none of them could help England to win the World Cup. No one could bring back the fans for the domestic games and no one had the kids believe who would play cricket and dream to be the next England star.

Even if he had not the gigantic stats, not many big innings and spells to his name but has earned a lot for his nation with his spirit and guts. He will forever be mentioned as one of the most impactful cricketers England ever had in One Day format.

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