Whether it be his fielding, on-field tactics, or brilliant batting, England skipper Ben Stokes always finds a way to be the talking point. Most of the talks about the dynamic cricketers are positive, but some of them are bound to be negative as well.
The criticism leveled against him is because of the outlandish tactics employed by the England cricket team. However, this time around, the criticism is about something ‘stupid’ he did during England’s mammoth 399-run chase in Vizag.
With his side 220-6 and still 179 runs away from the target, Ben Stokes basically ran himself out. Taking a regulation single with Ben Foakes, the English skipper jogged on to take the run and missed the crease by a couple of inches as Shreyas Iyer fired a direct hit.
The most frustrating thing about it was how casual Stokes looked and the fact that he didn’t even put in a dive to ensure he was in. With their savior gone, England struggled and eventually bundled out for 292.
After eventually losing the India vs England 2nd Test by 106 runs, Ben Stokes came out and criticized himself. In the post-match press conference, he said:
“It was like one of those dreams where you’re trying to run faster but you can’t. I knew I had to go faster, but for some reason, I just couldn’t. It was a really bizarre couple of seconds.
You’d think by now, at 32, I’d learned not to do that; it’s not the first time I’ve been run out doing something stupid.
I always seem to do something that’s a talking point, good or bad, don’t I?“
Editors pick
