The year 2019 belonged to Ben Stokes. The England all-rounder dished out champion performances in both ODIs and Tests.
Be it the ICC World Cup 2019 and the effect Stokes had to help his side clinch a maiden title.
Or perhaps the masterful 135* in the Headingley Test against Australia in Ashes 2019, which helped England get back. The series finally ended 2-2.
Time and time again, Stokes has made it a habit of producing substance. His impact with the bat, in particular, has raised his game to another level.
His fielding is top notch and the recent exploits where he broke the record for England in Tests with five catches as an outfielder provides more weight. He is also one of the trusted options to fall upon with the ball.
Stokes’s impact has risen with each passing moment. He is ranked as the third-best all-rounder in Test cricket at the moment and is atop the ICC ODI Rankings for All-rounders.
Going by his overall exploits in the game, Stokes is way ahead of the rest when it comes to being the best all-rounder in the game.
Notably, no team in the world has an all-rounder as productive as Stokes. He is a man for the big moment. He is someone who takes the centerstage in carving out decisive moments for his team.
In the ongoing Test series against South Africa, the all-rounder perhaps has handed England the win and gain vital points in the ICC World Test Championship.
With the series being tied 1-1, England ripped apart the Proteas in the ongoing third Test. Thanks to Stokes for his 120-run knock.
In 62 Tests, Stokes has 4,026 runs with nine hundreds and 143 wickets to his name. He also has 68 catches under his belt.
Talking about ben stokes being elite, the Englishman joined a list of top legend of the game in the ongoing third Test against SA.
He became the seventh cricketer to score 4,000 runs and take 100 wickets in Test cricket after Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies) Sir Ian Botham (England) Kapil Dev (India) Carl Hooper (West Indies) Jacques Kallis (South Africa) Daniel Vettori (New Zealand).
Stokes has had some wonderful moments in his career, however, it is now when we are getting the best out of him on a regular basis. Here we analyse why the world needs more champion all-round performers like the Englishman.
Stokes has built his reputation and that’s major sign
The truth is the all-rounder has made his reputation in the game. When he hit a double century against SA in Cape Town back in 2016, we had all predicted that Stokes has the caliber to go and create a name for himself.
A bit more than three years now, he has already been touted to be considered as a legend in the game.
When there is pressure telling, Stokes comes out and delivers. Not many all-rounders come and do that. The World Cup saw him on a supreme level altogether.
In the pressure final, his magical knock took the game to the Super Over. That was one of the best performances under pressure. The Headingley show was a step above when Aussies were coming all out at England.
The fifty-plus unbeaten partnership with Jack Leach for the final wicket was absolute masterclass.
And now against SA in the third Test, England were 148/4 at one stage. They needed a cushion and out came the southpaw. he added a double-century stand with fellow centurion Ollie Pope to take England to 499/9 declared.
That allowed England to get a hold over a jaded SA side and then cream their poor batting unit.
Whenever Stokes calls it a day, he will be remembered as someone who achieved greatness under pressure.
The magical Stokes will go down as one of the all-time greats
Recently, former England skipper Michael Vaughan had tweeted that Stokes will go down one of the all-time greats. “Sometimes we take for granted sports people we are watching in our own era .. but it’s safe to say @benstokes38 is at the height of his power and will go down as one of the all-time greats .. Many more years of him to go as well. Let’s enjoy it,” Vaughan tweeted.
When Stokes had won the Headingley Test for England on his own, former legend Ian Botham said he is now a world box-office attraction. “It changed my life overnight. I think Ben’s life will be the same,” Botham told the Daily Telegraph. “He will have no private life. He has to get used to that and so do the family.
“He is public property, but it is a great place to be in for the long term. It will set him up for life. He will reap the rewards, which he richly deserves, and he is now a world box-office attraction.”
It is rightly so. England have had some champion all-rounders in the form of Botham and Andrew Flintoff. And to be honest, Stokes is in the same bracket as them and depending on how he finishes his career, he may well surpass them and be the greatest.
How has Stokes performed of late and what can we expect?
Since the conclusion of the World Cup, Ben Stokes has amassed three centuries in nine-and-a-half Tests at an average of 54.62. Notably, there have been four half-centuries (including a score of 91 against New Zealand).
When you look at his offerings since the start of January 2019, he has scored the second-highest runs in the format after Marnus Labuschagne.
He has 1,060 runs from 13 Tests so far at an average of 50.47. He achieved England’s Man of the Series award in Ashes 2019.
Prior to that, he scored 465 runs in 11 matches in the 2019 World Cup at 66.42.
In the ongoing Test series, he has scores of 35, 14, 47, 72 and 120. That’s a commendable tally. Add that with six wickets in the series and the record-breaking five catches in a single inning, you have already found a winner here.
Going forward, the 28-year-old will be influential for the side in its quest for a top two finish in the World Test Championship.
You also have the ICC T20 World Cup and we all know how dangerous he can be in the shortest format as well. His change in mentality and understanding of what he can offer with the bat has made a major difference.