Stokes ‘hurting’ with how Pak series has unfolded, says McCullum
England head coach Brendon McCullum said captain Ben Stokes will be "hurting" after the 2-1 Test series defeat against Pakistan.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Saturday revisited the last day of the famous Headingley Test during the 2019 Ashes where he had stitched an extraordinary 76-run stand with number 11 Jack Leach to give England a one-wicket victory and said it would always be “one of the great days”.
With the cricket calendar frozen due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sky Sports aired footage of the final stages of the Test with live videos of Stokes, captain Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes watching the broadcast.
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Stokes took more than 150 balls to score his first 50 runs in England’s chase of 359 before shifting gears during the last-wicket partnership with Leach. He scored 74 off 76 balls to help the Three Lions chase their highest-ever Test score to level the Ashes in one of the most dramatic manners.
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“Not just on the field, but the memories we’ll always have together as a group. The changing room is sacred as a cricketer and that evening, after this day’s play, was just sensational. We’ll always be able to look back on what happened that day and the memories we created,” the 28- said.
Meanwhile, an image of Stokes’ iconic celebration after England’s victory at Headingley won the Wisden-MCC Photograph of the year competition for the year 2019.
Gareth Copley’s picture won the first prize from over 650 entries from around the world. Although there was a lot of variety at the display, most had captured Ben Stokes as he became the hero of an unforgettable win. In fact, no other player’s images had more submissions in a single edition than Stokes in the competition’s decade-old history.
Stokes was also named the Leading Cricketer of 2019. He had amassed a total of 821 runs in red-ball cricket last year at an average of 45, including an Ashes century at Lord’s. His ODI batting figures in 2019 stood at 719 with a staggering average of almost 60.
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