All-rounder Ben Stokes has successfully managed to add another discouraging episode to his ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 involvement. Yet to bowl in the tournament, Stokes is also due for a batting performance which would not only justify his potential but also the decision to come out of retirement in a bid to partake in a global competition.
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If truth be told, it would’ve still been bearable had Stokes not generated the amount of impact England were expecting him to in their ongoing league match against India at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. What has significantly let down English fans is their Test captain conceding defeat against Mohammed Shami whilst chasing a 230-run target.
Coming in to bat at No. 4 with the team already in trouble, Stokes opted to bail England out of trouble by taking on the opposition without caring about the top-class fast bowling on display. While such a tactic has worked for England in the recent years, Stokes’ recklessness enticed all the more trouble towards the double World Champions.
A jittery Stokes, who registered a 10-ball duck, was forcefully looking to circumvent by finding the boundary rope. That said, a nothing shot against a delivery which demanded towering respect saw him walking back to the pavilion on the last ball of the eighth over.
Having completely misjudged the line, length and swing produced by Shami, the left-handed batter was dismissed in quite a blush-making manner. Stokes, as a result, he became the third high-profile batter after Virat Kohli and Joe Root to be out for a duck on Sunday. Although both Kohli and Root were also censured, Stokes coped a lot of fans’ wrath chiefly because of his bizarre shot-selection.
Contender for the worst shot of the tournament there by Ben Stokes.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) October 29, 2023
It’s very hard to justify that shot from Ben Stokes… #INDvENG
— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) October 29, 2023
Stokes was brought into the side largely to ride the crisis when under pressure in a run-chase.
Given the situation that shot was inexplicable.
— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) October 29, 2023
Ben Stokes Runs In 2023 World Cup
Stokes, who missed the first three 2023 World Cup matches due to a sore hip, has scored just 48 runs across three innings at an average and strike rate of 16 and 52.74 respectively.
Shockingly omitted from England’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 squad, Stokes’ only World Cup participation before the current tournament had come in a title-winning campaign four years ago.
Player of the Match in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 final against New Zealand at the Lord’s, Stokes had enjoyed a successful tournament on the back of scoring 465 runs at an average and strike rate of 66.42 and 93.18 respectively in addition to his seven wickets coming at an economy rate of 4.83.
