Cricket

Ben Stokes believes Kane Williamson deserves to be awarded ‘New Zealander of the year’

Gurpreet Singh
|PublishedJul 23, 2019

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 14: Ben Stokes of England celebrates victory during the Final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between New Zealand and England at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 14, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Ben Stokes believes Kane Williamson deserves to be awarded ‘New Zealander of the year’ and not him, after being nominated for the same

The English all-rounder and hero of the 2019 World Cup final, Ben Stokes has finally given his verdict on him being nominated for the ‘New Zealander of the year‘ award a few days ago.

Alongside Stokes, the New Zealand skipper, Kane Williamson was also nominated for the award, and Stokes believes that the latter is indeed the most fitting person to be handed the honour.

It is worth mentioning, that the 28-year-old was born in Christchurch, New Zealand but moved to the UK with his family at the age of 12.

His father, Gerard Stokes in fact used to play rugby league for New Zealand. Stokes has remained in the UK since, although his parents have returned home and now live in the South Island city of Christchurch.

“I feel the whole country should align their support to NZ captain Kane Williamson.”- Stokes

Feeling really humbled after being nominated for the prestigious honour, Stokes was of the view that he is proud of his New Zealand and Maori (indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand) heritage, but does not deserve to be nominated for the prestigious honour.

He further added that the entire country should give their outright verdict on the 2019 World Cup ‘Man of the Tournament’ and their skipper Kane Williamson, as his vote definitely goes to him.

”I am proud of my New Zealand & Maori heritage, but it would not sit right with me to be nominated for this prestigious award, opined Stokes.

“I feel the whole country should align their support to NZ captain Kane Williamson”, he further added.

New Zealander of the Year chief judge Cameron Bennett had during the nominations had said, “Stokes might not have been playing for the Black Caps but, having been born in Christchurch where his parents now live and with Maori ancestry, there’s clearly a few Kiwis about who think we can still claim him”.

About the author

Gurpreet Singh

Gurpreet Singh is a Cricket writer at The Sportsrush. His platonic relationship with sports had always been there since childhood, but Cricket managed to strike a special, intimate nerve of his heart. Although his initial dream of playing the sport at the highest level couldn't come to fruition, Gurpreet did represent the state of Jharkhand at the under-14 level. However, almost like taking a pledge to never let the undying passion for Cricket fade away even a tad, he made sure to continue the love relationship by assigning the field of journalism as an indirect Cupid. He thus, first finished his bachelor's in journalism and then pursued the PG Diploma course in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Soon after and since 2019, he has been working at The Sportsrush. Apart from sports, he takes keen interest in politics, and in understanding women and gender-related issues.