Cricketer Ben Stokes, an all-rounder for England, struck a brilliant hundred against New Zealand in the third One-Day International on September 13 at Kennington Oval in London. The southpaw played an astounding 182 (124) innings, blasting 15 fours and nine sixes. England scored a whopping 368 runs thanks to his performance before being bowled out in 48.1 overs.
The England all-rounder honoured his father Gerard Stokes by bending his middle finger and gazing upwards as he celebrated his century, which has gone viral on social media. The 32-year-old has previously claimed that the act is a tribute to his father, who lost his middle finger in the 1980s after being injured numerous times while playing rugby. Gerard lost his long fight with brain cancer in December 2020.
Cricketer Ben Stokes heartwarming celebration:
Ben Stokes remembering his father after scoring the century!#ENGvNZ #NZvENGpic.twitter.com/U88BFJMcOM
— Abdullah Neaz (@cric___guy) September 13, 2023
Stokes’ 182 surpasses Jason Roy’s 180 (151) against Australia in Melbourne on January 14, 2018, to become the greatest score by an England hitter in ODIs. He appeared on the verge of being the first English player to ever record a double hundred in ODIs at one point. He was eventually out in the 45th over, though, while attempting to hit a full ball from Ben Lister over deep mid-wicket but only succeeding in finding Will Young on the boundary.
Following a six-year hiatus, Stokes’ fourth ODI century was achieved. The cricketer, who was born in Christchurch, came out of retirement in August 2023 to support England in their attempt to retain their title as World Champions at the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, which will start in India on October 5.
With 235 runs from three innings at an average of 78.33 and a strike rate of 115.76 with a century to his credit, Stokes has made an impressive return to one-day international cricket. The all-rounder scored 84* (98) in the final of the ODI World Cup 2019, which significantly contributed to England’s victory. He will be anxious to contribute similarly this time around.
Twitter is currently buzzing with Tweets from Ben Stokes. Moreover, the netizens are taken away with his heartwarming celebration after a smashing inning. The cricketer remembering his late father has won the hearts of the audience.
So, this was all about the popular cricketer Ben Stokes. Also read, Harbhajan Singh’s comments on cricketer KL Rahul.
