It was a historic knock from the blade of Ben Stokes which helped England keep the Ashes alive and make the scoreline 1-1 after the completion of 3 matches. England was done and dusted and Australia was within striking distance of reclaiming the Ashes when Stokes played an astonishing knock and shared a 73 runs stand with Jack Leach, the No 11 batsman to help England win the 3rd Test by a solitary wicket.
Meanwhile former England great Sir Ian Botham reckoned that Stokes’ life after will never be the same again following his once in a lifetime knock. The southpaw tormented the Australian bowlers en route to his knock of 135 as England chased down a mammoth 359 to keep the series alive. Stokes’ knock has been compared with Botham’s famous century back in 1981 which helped England win an unlikely Test match. It also made him an Ashes hero for a long time.
“It changed my life overnight. I think Ben”s life will be the same. He will have no private life. He has to get used to that and so do the family,” Botham was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
“He is public property but it is a great place to be in for the long term. It will set him up for life. He will reap the rewards which he richly deserves and he is now a world box-office attraction.”
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The former England fast bowler and a hard-hitting batsman termed the knock as a “special one”. He also stated that the desire of Stokes to come good in the longest format is indeed a welcome sign. “He will play all the T20 leagues but the refreshing thing about it all is he wants to play Test cricket and do well in it. That is the ultimate test,” Botham added.
“Five-day games ebb and flow. We were bowled out for 67 (in the first innings of the third Test) and in any other format, it”ll be all over. Test cricket gives you room for something extraordinary to happen, and it happened.
“It might take 48 hours to sink in, and he”ll think, “I can do it, and I will do it again”. He”s got wood on Australia and I tell you, there”s no better feeling as an England cricketer.”