Redemption is complete for England all-rounder Ben Stokes, with UK media labelling him their “very own Superman” after his T20 World Cup final heroics.
Former England skipper Joe Root summed it up perfectly in Stokes’ documentary – “The big moments find him”.
And Stokes, the man who let the 2016 T20 World Cup final slip in devastating scenes against the West Indies, was once again thrust into the spotlight when his country needed him most on Sunday night.
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But unlike six years ago, Stokes would not be denied in the final with his 52* handing England the trophy in a stunning five-wicket win over Pakistan.
Stokes was the man with ball in hand for the final over in the 2016 T20 World Cup final when West Indian Carlos Braithwaite smash four consecutive sixes to snatch an unlikely victory.
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What followed were devastating scenes as Stokes sunk to the pitch, after one of the biggest meltdowns seen in cricket history.
“I thought: ‘I’ve just lost the World Cup’. I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
“That experience would have broken lesser mortals,” legendary commentator Ian Bishop said in Stokes’ documentary “Phoenix from the Ashes”.
Stokes, who admitted it felt like the “whole world had come down” on him, refused to let the “cruel” 2016 setback define him.
“Rather than fearing failure, embrace it,” he said.
“You learn from stuff like that and use it as motivation to get better and drive you … I never let that kind of stuff eat me up.”
And in front of more than 80,000 fans at the MCG on Sunday night, Stokes showed why he is considered his country’s “ultimate competitor” and their “hero” in the clutch moments.
It’s not the first time the Kiwi-born Englishman has been the one to stand tall, with his 2019 Cricket World Cup and Headingley heroics in the Ashes against Australia showing he has the mental fortitude.
“One fact remains indisputable — when the chips are down, when England need a hero, then their very own Superman is always around to come to the rescue,” ex-England cricketer Paul Newman wrote on Stokes.
“Just as Stokes was the main man behind England’s fabled 50-over World Cup victory in 2019, and just as he was the main man in the miracle of Headingley in the Ashes series that followed, he was the main man yet again here.”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Stokes simply “thrived under pressure” – no matter the stakes.
“Before this tournament people were saying he did not have the best T20 record for England and were questioning his role in the side. Frankly, who cares about his record?” Hussain wrote for the Daily Mail.
“You know when you get to a knockout stage of a tournament you need players who can absorb pressure and be there for you at the end and Stokes is that cricketer.
“He thrives under pressure. He enjoys it. It is always him there at the end, just as it was at the end of the 2019 World Cup. Just as it was in the Headingley Test of that year and just as it was, in different circumstances, at the end of that fateful final against West Indies.
“If (England captain) Jos Buttler could have chosen any cricketer to be there at the end of that final yesterday it would have been Stokes and he delivered for his country yet again.”
Fans are calling for Stokes to be knighted given his repeat heroics for England, while others are now labelling him England’s greatest ever cricketer.
“I remember him telling Jofra (Archer) that it doesn’t define you when things don’t go your way and Ben has never let that 2016 final push him back,” Buttler said post-victory on Sunday.
“Is he England’s greatest ever cricketer? He can be in that conversation for sure.”
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Stokes was in such a jovial mood post-World Cup victory on Sunday night that he even managed a joke at his own expense on that fateful 2016 final.
“Jos has now created his own legacy – T20 World Cup winning captain. [Ex-captain Morgan] had the chance (in 2016), but someone blew that up. Not quite sure who that was!” Stokes laughed.
Teammate Liam Livingstone, who was out in the middle when Stokes hit the winning runs on Sunday night, described his teammate as “very calm”.
“He is a phenomenal man. He has done it twice now to win World Cups for England,” he praised.
