Ben Stokes has admitted being relieved to have started the 2019 World Cup on a winning note, especially with the long-drawn build-up to the tournament, and the immense pressure that came along with it.
Stokes’ all-round display played a key part in England’s 104-run victory over South Africa at The Oval, their fifth win in an opening match of a World Cup held at home.
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“The most pleasing thing is we have got the first game out of the way and winning like that,” Stokes said after the match.
“There has been such a long build-up to the World Cup and answering questions on it for about a year now, and now we are finally here and it’s nice to walk away with a win. There were a few nerves knocking about, there definitely was for me and I have not felt like that in a long time.”
On the field, Stokes showed little nerves, even as he came in to bat with the game in the balance. At 111-3, England had lost their top three (Jonny Bairstow to a first-ball duck) and still had to work their way towards a competitive total. Starting steadily, Stokes became freer as the innings progressed, as he forged a crucial 106-run stand with captain Eoin Morgan in the middle overs, and finished with 89 in his side’s total of 311.
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Playing his first-ever World Cup game, Stokes hit a fluent 79-ball 89[/caption]
It was Stokes’ highest score in ODIs since his century against Australia at Birmingham in June 2017.
“The best thing about being an all-rounder is you can influence the game pretty much the whole 100 overs – it is always nice when you can contribute to the team winning,” Stokes said.
It wasn’t just about his batting – on the field, the livewire that he is, Stokes pulled off a sensational grab in the deep, a catch that would be talked about for ages.
Stationed at deep mid-wicket, he seemed to have misread Andile Phehlukwayo’s wild hog, but adjusted spectacularly to take a one-handed blinder, leaping into the air and pouching the ball almost behind his head.
Oh. My. God.
Best catch ever?
Scorecard: https://t.co/VBF09D5Eej#WeAreEngland #CWC19 #ExpressYourself pic.twitter.com/8iE7NsvJz6
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 30, 2019
“It was a fluke. To be honest, I was in the wrong position: if I was in the right position it would have been regulation. That feeling for about five seconds when I was facing the crowd and everyone was cheering, it was phenomenal,” he admitted.
He capped off the day with one more catch, a run-out and two wickets, finishing as the Player of the Match.
“When you do take catches like that, especially when you know you’ve started in the wrong position: made a relatively straightforward catch into a hard one – but I didn’t really know, quite hard to react, to be honest, I just tried to take it in.”
