Ben Stokes of England, a powerful all-rounder, set a record-breaking knock of 182 against New Zealand during the third One-Day International in an electrifying show of power-hitting skill. The action took place at The Oval, where England was in a grave situation at 13/2 after the Kiwis requested that they bat first. However, when Stokes walked to the crease, what happened next was nothing less than a masterpiece in aggressive batting.
The English pair made sure the Kiwi bowlers were kept on their toes despite the early defeats, undeterred. Dawid Malan, who nearly missed a well-deserved century by four runs, and the England all-rounder forged a strong 199-run partnership for the third wicket. Despite a late lower-order collapse, the team effort helped England to an impressive 368 in 48.1 overs. They eventually triumphed by 181 runs.
In addition to winning Player of the Match, the left-handed batter eclipsed Jason Roy’s previous mark for England’s greatest individual score (180 runs), which was set against Australia in Melbourne in 2018. Stokes made a humorous post-game gesture in which he “apologised” to Roy for surpassing his milestone.
Stokes expressed his satisfaction during the post-game presentation, saying, “Really pleased. Apologies to Jason. We spoke about putting New Zealand under pressure and getting to a good start, and even after losing those early wickets, we wanted to be positive. Once we got going, we did not want them to settle.”
Ben Stokes on assuming new responsibilities as the team’s senior player.
He praised the consistency and brilliance of his partner in crime, Dawid Malan, while accepting his role as a senior player and emphasising the necessity of mentoring the younger players in the team.
He (Malan) is a very consistent player, a very quality player, rotates the strike very well as well, and missed out on the milestone after getting a strangle down leg. “As experienced players, we need to mentor the younger players,” he said. “I am feeling much better, Test matches are a bit longer, but ODIs certainly are not that demanding.”
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