Ben Stokes: England's Greatest All-Rounder, the 2019 World Cup Final Hero, and Bazball Captain
Ben Stokes (England) is widely regarded as the greatest cricket all-rounder of his generation. His most famous innings: 84* off 63 balls in the 2019 Cricket World Cup final Super Over tie (Headingley 2019: 135* to save the Ashes), and 258 vs South Africa (2016). As England Test captain from April 2022, he introduced 'Bazball' — England's aggressive approach that produced 11 wins in 12 Tests. Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, Stokes qualified to play for England through his father Ged Stokes (England county cricketer).
Ben Stokes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in June 1991 — the son of Ged Stokes, a New Zealand provincial cricketer who later moved to England. He qualified to play for England through his father's birth there and grew up in Durham. He made his Test debut in 2013 and quickly became England's most important all-rounder — a genuine match-winner with both bat and ball.
The 2019 World Cup Final
On 14 July 2019, England vs New Zealand at Lord's, the match ended in a Super Over after a tie — both teams scored 241. In the Super Over, Stokes scored 8 off 3 balls (including a deflection off his bat to the boundary from a throw — a controversial 6 from an overthrow). The Super Over also tied at 15 all. England won on boundary countback (26 vs 17). It was the most dramatic conclusion in World Cup history. Stokes finished with 84* off 98 balls in the main innings after England were 86/4 needing 242.
Headingley 2019
Six weeks after the World Cup, Stokes produced arguably his greatest Test innings. England needed 359 in the fourth innings at Headingley to win the 3rd Ashes Test and keep the series alive. At 286/9 (last wicket pair of Stokes and Jack Leach), England needed 73 more. Stokes hit 135* off 219 balls; Leach contributed 1* (17 balls, all dot balls). England won by 1 wicket — only the fourth time in history a team has won a Test after being the last batting pair. Stokes faced 226 balls for a final 40 minutes that stopped the nation.
Frequently asked questions
Was the 2019 Cricket World Cup final boundary countback rule fair, and has it been changed since?
2019 World Cup final boundary countback: the controversy and its aftermath. The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand ended in the most extraordinary fashion: the match tied (241 all out from both teams), the Super Over also tied (15 runs each), and England won via boundary countback — England had hit 26 fours and sixes in the match compared to New Zealand's 17. The controversy: (1) New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson and cricket experts immediately questioned the fairness of the boundary countback rule. New Zealand had won 5 of their final 8 boundaries in the Super Over specifically — the Super Over boundaries alone were 2 (England, but one was an overthrow) vs 1 (New Zealand). (2) The overthrow: when England were 227/9 in the main innings, a Ben Stokes drive ricocheted off his bat and reached the boundary — umpire Kumar Dharmasena signalled 6 (overthrow boundary + 2 completed runs). The Laws of Cricket at the time arguably supported only 5 runs (the 2 already being run + the 4 overthrow), not 6. The Law has since been clarified to confirm only 5 runs should have been awarded. Martin Guptill confirmed this would have changed the Super Over outcome — England needed 2 off the last ball instead of 3. (3) The outcome: ICC removed the boundary countback rule for future tournaments. From 2020 onward, if a Super Over also ties, another Super Over is played. This change was implemented directly because of the 2019 final controversy. The irony: without the controversial overthrow ruling, New Zealand would likely have won. The overthrow is the most consequential single umpiring error in World Cup history — though it was an error of interpretation, not deliberate.