Stokes one of the greats

WORDS: STUART HESS

No match is over while Ben is on the field

IS there a better match-winner in cricket at the moment than Ben Stokes? No, there isn’t. No match is over while this man is on the field.

The Australians and New Zealanders can attest to his batting prowess, which came in a crucial Ashes Test and in the World Cup final respectively last year.

He has battered South Africa in the Test format – plundering runs and famously at Newlands last year producing a brutal spell late on the final day to earn his team a Test win.

The T20 format – which is the only part of the tour he will be involved in SA – hasn’t always been kind to Stokes and most famously it was his final over in the 2016 T20 World Cup final that allowed everyone to remember the name, Carlos Brathwaite.

But those are the stakes Stokes likes playing with; he wants to be involved in any match’s most critical moments, he thrives on them and more often than not emerges victorious with his reputation enhanced.

There has naturally been plenty of debate about where he ranks in the pantheon of great all-rounders, such has been his impact on the international game.

It is a debate best had when he retires, but the fact that he is in the conversation with still a significant portion of his career left to play out suggests we are in the midst of witnessing one of the sport’s greatest players.

Photos: BackpagePix

RECORD VS SA IN T20 INTERNATIONALS: P 6 W 3 L3

Batting: 100 runs, HS - 47*, Strike Rate - 147.05 Bowling: Five wickets, BB - 2/35, Economy Rate - 8.27 Fielding: Five catches