Best of Ben Stokes in ODIs
In an ODI career that spanned more than a decade, Stokes played 104 ODIs, scaling several peaks including rising to No.2 in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's ODI all-rounder rankings. Elevated to Test captaincy recently, Stokes cited three formats as "unsustainable" for him in the social media post he shared announcing the decision. Last year, Stokes had taken an indefinite mental health break but returned to the national side for the Ashes series Down Under.
An outstanding all-rounder, Stokes etched his name into the record books with a Player of the Match performance in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final in 2019. Here's revisiting some of his best performances in the format, including the one on that glittery night in July three years ago.
70 and 4/38 vs Australia, Perth 2014
The first Player of the Match performance from Ben Stokes came against an opposition he would go on to torment a few times in his career. In Perth in 2014, Stokes, still less than 20 ODIs into his career, walked in at No.3 and smashed 70 off 84 balls, his maiden ODI fifty, to lift England to 316 batting first. He returned with the ball to prize out stand-in skipper George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson to finish with figures of 4/38.
71* vs Pakistan, Nottingham 2019
With a tall target of 341 staring at them, England raced off the blocks with a Jason Roy hundred, but soon lost four wickets in the space of 15 runs to be reduced to 216/5. Stokes strung together vital partnerships with Joe Denly and Tom Curran to take England past 300. In the penultimate over, with England needing 16 from 11 balls, Stokes struck a crucial six and then saw off the run chase with three balls to spare.
99 vs India, Pune 2021
In another steep run chase, Ben Stokes once again stood tall, walking in at No.3 and making Jonny Bairstow's work easier with his stunning strike rate. With India having made 336, England had their task cut out, but Bairstow hit a hundred from the top of the order and Stokes walked in at No.3 and raced to his fifty in 40 balls. The southpaw upped the ante from there, smashing 49 runs in his next 12 deliveries, but fell one short of the three-figure mark while attempting a pull off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The strike rate of 190.38 proved to be massive for England in the run chase as they won with more than six overs to spare.
89, 2/12 and 2 catches vs South Africa, The Oval, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019
Ben Stokes lit up the home World Cup on the opening day with a dream all-round performance. After top-scoring for his team with a cracking 79-ball 89, Stokes went on to make a massive impact on the field with a spectacular catch, later hailed as the 'catch of the century' by former England player Phil Tufnell, near the ropes to send back Andile Phehlukwayo. He then finished off the tail with a couple of wickets to complete a Player of the Match performance.
84* vs New Zealand, Lord's, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final 2019
The best of Ben Stokes came on the biggest stage of them all - the World Cup final at the Home of Cricket. Chasing 242 for a win, the hosts were reduced to 86/4 when Stokes joined hands with Jos Buttler. The duo put on a century stand before Buttler was dismissed, sparking a mini-collapse of sorts. Stokes stood on till the end, though, and although he couldn't quite see England through, he ensured he would take them to the Super Over, where he scored eight of the 15 runs England made. In a game that was decided by the boundary count, it's worth remembering that no one scored more of them than Stokes, who walked away with the Player of the Match award in the edge-of-the-seat thriller.