Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Wales, Britain will play host to the One-Day International match between England and New Zealand on September 8, 2023. Ben Stokes of England is shown celebrating his half century in action photographs. courtesy of Andrew Couldridge of Reuters
Ben Stokes, who bats for England, said that the fact that he was on the team as a specialist batter helped him to have a better understanding of his role in the team and gave him more leeway while he was at the crease.
Stokes scored 182 runs while playing as a specialist batsman, contributing to England’s thrashing of New Zealand by 181 runs at The Oval on Wednesday. Stokes smashed 15 fours and nine sixes during his innings. To claim the record for the greatest individual score by a men’s player for England in one-day international cricket, he surpassed Jason Roy’s 180 against Australia in 2018.
No. 3 Most Consistent It was the record-breaking innings from the England Test captain that shone out on a dominant day for the hosts. This match was a replay of the 2019 World Cup Final. Dawid Malan had a brilliant knock of 96 in a partnership of 199 with Stokes. However, it was Stokes’ performance that stood out.
Stokes remarked that “this is the first time that I’ve been clear in my mind that that’s the one thing I can focus on.” “This is the first time that I’ve been clear in my mind that that’s the one thing I can focus on,”
“I suppose that for the past 18 months, the question of ‘will I bowl, will I not bowl?’ has been on my mind every day. Now that I am aware that I am able to merely concentrate on that… That is now my responsibility for the team. Having that sort of mental lucidity helps me contribute to that.
Since July of this year, Stokes has not been bowling because he is managing an ongoing ailment to his left knee.
The left-handed batter stated that his approach does not change regardless of which position he bats in on the field.
“I would prefer not to go in quite so early because I want to see the other guys up top do well,” he said. I don’t believe that my strategy for one-day cricket has necessarily shifted as a result of the many years that I played at positions 5 or 6… Stokes stated, “I still believe that batting at No. 4, I’ll go out with the exact same approach I had when I was batting at No. 5.”
Stokes announced his retirement from one-day international cricket the previous year, and he even told media at the end of this year’s Ashes series that he had no plans to reverse his decision and play in the World Cup, which would start in India the following month. Stokes withdrew from one-day international cricket the previous year.
However, he was named in England’s preliminary squad a month ago, which marked his return to the England setup in front of their World Cup title defense in India. This will take place later this year.