The World Cup final underlined his immense character. Trevor Bayliss praised Stokes' attitude as "exemplary", saying he had "learned his lesson". Within months of his comeback, Stokes had played a key role in England's 3-0 Test win in Sri Lanka, their first whitewash series victory in Asia. It was testament to his immense character that he ensured he would be remembered for more positive reasons. He had already missed the 2017-18 Ashes tour - a toothless England were beaten 4-0 with Stokes not considered for selection - and been stripped of the team's vice-captaincy. A trial at Bristol Crown Court subsequently saw him cleared of the charge of affray but by then the reputational damage had been done. Celebrating an ODI victory in Bristol, Stokes became embroiled in a fight outside a club in the early hours of the morning that resulted in his arrest. The second, and altogether more serious, incident occurred in September 2017. Asked to defend 19 in the last over against West Indies, his attempted yorkers missed the mark by inches resulting in Carlos Brathwaite heaving him for four successive sixes into a sweltering night sky.
The first came in the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup final in Kolkata. In making an unbeaten 84 he exhausted every ounce of strength, talent and willpower and then when he imagined it might be all over he came out to bat once more to help win a Super Over by the narrowest of margins.įor Stokes, this was a wonderful moment of redemption because it had been his misfortune until then to be remembered for two episodes he would rather forget. Never was that more true than when he secured his place in English cricket history with an indefatigable batting display in the 2019 World Cup final. And it's true that Ben Stokes' combative nature, allied to his powerful frame and outrageous talent, lifted England to another level. The great Irish sports writer Con Houlihan used to say that every team should have a redhead.
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