‘Fear?- We don’t think about it too much’- This is what Ben Stokes said after his brilliant century not only bailed England out of trouble but also took his team over the line in the final group game against Ashes rivals Australia on Saturday (June 10).
The southpaw joined Eoin Morgan when the hosts were reeling at 35 for three and the arrival of rain soon after, made the situation even more tricky.
Anyone with the slightest of cricketing knowledge would surely think that the disruption would have forced the batsmen to adopt a cautious approach but just like they have done in the last couple of years, this new-look England side once again defied all the speculations and beliefs.
Morgan made the intentions clear by hitting a pair of boundaries off Mitchell Starc’s first over after resumption and Stokes soon followed suit. Even with the conditions suiting the Pacers, neither of the batsmen looked uncomfortable during their stay, as they shared a match-defining partnership of 159 runs before the skipper fell for 87. But Stokes did not commit the same mistake, as that of his captain as he blasted a career-best 102 not out before rain ended the match, giving England a 40-run win (via D/L method).
Speaking after the game, Stokes admitted that there was pressure after the poor start but he and Morgan were not scared.
“There was always pressure. But the fear thing – we don’t think about too much,” Stokes told ICC after the game in an interview.
“Me and Morgy (Morgan) both talked about the fact that the ball wasn’t swinging and there was just a bit of sideways movement off the deck. So we just had to try and play every ball on its merit and then once you get in on good wickets and face a few balls, it gets a lot easier.
With this win, England has become the only team to make it the semifinal without losing a single match and Stokes reckoned the Three Lions are moving in the right direction with the correct intent.
“It just sums up our team at the moment and the way we’re moving forward with our positive intent and we always on to be on the front foot,” he said.
With both he and Morgan adapting to an attacking approach after the initial rain-break, the southpaw was asked whether it was a part of a plan. However, Stokes refused it and said that it was the way England play the game at the moment.
“I don’t think it was a counter-attack,” he said. “It’s just our natural way in the middle order. We always look to take the positive option whether in attack or defence.”
“It was just our natural way,” said Stokes. “We don’t make a conscious effort on that (targeting bowlers) unless we feel the need to. We just keep playing, we know that our natural attacking positive instinct is probably going to take over.”
Speaking about the chase, Stokes further added: “When you’re out there in chases, the biggest thing that you need to come over is the adrenaline that you feel. I actually had to sort of start again at certain stages. I looked up at the board and saw we needed 100 to win and I thought I was getting a bit too far ahead of myself. I thought if I got out playing a silly shot, it’ll put some pressure on the guys coming after me. I just try and concentrate on the run rate on what we need, try and take over from there and make sure we get that and put bad balls away.”
England is currently looking as the firm favourites to lift the coveted title but Stokes, while admitting that his team has the potential to go all the way, did not sound too complacent.
“We know we’re going well as a team and we’ve got potential. But we have two big games ahead of us,” he concluded.