Ben Stokes has earned the right to be called an England great after the “once-in-a-generation player” guided Jos Buttler’s side to T20 World Cup glory.
That was the message from former England batsman Ryan Sidebottom, who was speaking to Stats Perform after Stokes’ 52-match unbeaten run sealed a five-wicket win against Pakistan in Sunday’s final.
The all-rounder arrived at the crease at the MCG with England 32-2 in their chase of 138, but produced a well-crafted innings to record his first T20I half-century at the biggest occasion.
Sidebottom labeled the Test captain as one of England’s all-time greats after Stokes became only the third player to score 50-plus runs in an ODI World Cup final and a T20 World Cup final.
Asked if Stokes was now an England legend, Sidebottom said: “I would say so, for sure. He probably should be.
“He might be called Sir Ben Stokes at one stage, but I think he’s done it so many times now that you can’t argue with that.
“With what he’s done in key moments under pressure, he’s the man to do it. You’ve got a once-in-a-generation player and when the big occasion comes, more often than not, he turns up.
“He turns it on and makes things happen. Look at the Ashes and the 2019 World Cup. It’s almost crazy to say that, but it’s almost like he’s just playing a regular game in the park.
“He doesn’t worry about the situation, or what kind of game he’s playing. I think he’s just saying, ‘I’m out here. I’m just going to play my game. And I’ll see us down the line.’
“Once you strip it all down and keep it very simple, it certainly changes the way you play as a player – he’s been phenomenal.”
Stokes suffered an upset in the T20 World Cup final in 2016 when Carlos Brathwaite hit him for four consecutive sixes to win the contest for the West Indies.
Sidebottom says Stokes’ honesty and professionalism in responding to this obstacle is what sets him apart.
“Playing a professional sport, there are always ups and downs,” he added. “There are always negatives, there are always days when you don’t go your way and maybe your opposition number gets the better of you or you just have a bad day out.
“You either learn from it or you can get upset about it and let it affect you. What Ben Stokes has done after that World Cup final, since then, he’s never looked back.
“The things we’ve seen away from cricket, we’ve all done stupid things. We’ve all done things we’ve regretted or didn’t want to do, you grow and mature and he did that.
“He’s done his time. He’s been open and honest. With his mental health issues and all that. His cricket has improved tremendously since then and he’s become a great cricketer. “
Stokes has become accustomed to playing the hero for England in recent years, notably in the victorious 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand and the Ashes at Headingley in the same year.
The calm manner in which Stokes goes about his business is another key aspect identified by Sidebottom, with his demeanor helping England make it four wins in a row to seal a second T20 World Cup crown.
“Ben Stokes is that calming influence, he doesn’t panic. He’s very level-headed and I think with someone like him, it comes through the team,” Sidebottom continued.
“When you have a player like that of his stature, when he’s so calm in the crease, it certainly comes through the team.
And the team says, ‘we don’t need to panic, we can easily win this game’. It was shown in the final and semi-final.
“It showed in the Sri Lanka game as well where he was getting really close. Ben Stokes didn’t panic. The whole team is just used to playing in big tournaments now and used to being under a lot more pressure.”
