Inspirational Stokes shows Dutch courage, but should he already be back home?
Evening Standard|November 09, 2023
RESCUER of a fading cause, staggering around on creaking joints as aching limbs launch ball after ball beyond the boundary; a team on the brink of collapse dragged towards salvation and victory by one man's stubborn streak.
Malik Ouzia
Inspirational Stokes shows Dutch courage, but should he already be back home?

This was exactly the kind of innings England fans had in mind when Ben Stokes announced his decision to un-retire ahead of this World Cup. Unfortunately, it was being played by Glenn Maxwell.

Less than 24 hours on from Maxwell's magnum opus, the Australian's double-hundred against Afghanistan on Tuesday to take his country into the semi-finals constituting probably the greatest ODI knock of all time, Stokes was indeed playing his own defiant hand.

A century from England's talisman in Pune steered the defenceless champions from the precipice of another premature skittling to a total too tall for the Dutch and, in the process, kept their quaint push for Champions Trophy qualification alive.

This story is from the November 09, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.

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This story is from the November 09, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.

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