Former England captain Ben Stokes was at his best during the Metro Bank One Day Cup last night. He bowled an unplayable ball to Luke Hollman which sent the stumps cartwheeling. Durham Cricket shared a clip of the wicket with the off stump sent cartwheeling. This clip went viral on social media with fans in awe of the quality of bowling from Stokes. It was a big wicket as Hollman had made 33 off 35 balls and was trying to keep Middlesex’s chase on track. This wicket gave Durham a chance and Stokes produced this delivery out of nowhere. Hollman had been one of the batters holding the innings together, and removing him with the visitors still needing runs brought the hosts back into the contest.
Durham had put 303 for 7 on the board, with Alex Lees making a century and Stokes contributing 34. Middlesex kept themselves in the game throughout the chase. Toby Roland-Jones and Henry Brookes guided Middlesex through the closing stages as they reached 307 for 7 in 49.3 overs, winning by three wickets with three balls to spare. For Stokes, the wicket was another reminder of what he can still offer with the ball. He bowled with great pace and accuracy. The former England captain remains one of the biggest spotlight in the One-Day Cup.
Ben Stokes opens up on coaching England after retirement
Earlier this summer, Stokes had announced in the middle of the third Test against New Zealand that he would retire at the end of the match. He retired with a great legacy of scoring more than 10000 runs across formats and more than 300 wickets. His announcement came as a shock to many fans. Ben Stokes has been in stunning form in the Metro Bank One Day Cup and the only question fans have is whether he will comeback from retirement. Recently in a podcast, the former England captain had ruled out a comeback but said that he could coach England one day.
Appearing on the For the Love of Cricket podcast alongside Jos Butter, former England captain Ben Stokes said, "I’m doing my level three coaching now while I’m still playing, because I want, when the day comes that I’m not playing any more, I’d love to be able to have all that stuff signed off and done. I know what I want to do in terms of staying within the game, which is to be a coach. And would I love to be coach of England one day? Absolutely. I just really like the idea of being, again, like, in some form of leadership away from playing."
