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During his recent interview, Joe Root, the former England Test captain, has hailed his teammate Ben Stokes as the best player they have produced as a country. The 32-year-old was talking about the key contributions with the bat from the England all-rounder in the finals, which helped them in winning the ODI World Cup in 2019 and T20 World Cup in 2022.
Ben Stokes has been in the headlines in the last week or so, after he made the decision to take a U-turn on his retirement from the ODI format, at the behest of the England captain Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott. It led to him finding a place in the provisional ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 squad for the defending champions.
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While talking to ESPNcricinfo, Joe Root talked about how Ben Stokes is a proven match-winner, against whom the opposition teams dread to play. He was quoted as saying, “You know every other international team are looking thinking, 'Damn, I thought we got rid of him!' At the same time, it fills the rest of the squad with confidence, knowing you've got a proven match-winner who will always seek out those big moments.”
Then, he went on to discuss the contrasting performances from his teammate during the multiple ICC finals in recent years. Root said, “You look at the two World Cup finals we won, and he (Stokes) won for us. Even the one we lost against West Indies in 2016, he still took on the big moment - he wanted that final over.”
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“To be able to come back from that in the manner that he has and deliver some of the things he has done in an England shirt is a testament to what a legend he is in the game. Probably, I think, the best player we've ever produced as a country,” he added.
