Stokes Shines as England Triumph over New Zealand
By Atharv, Sports Staff Writer
England has triumphed over New Zealand in cricket, with Ben Stokes being the man of the match. Stokes was crucial to the win, scoring an impressive 63 not out. Stokes also performed exceptionally well as a fielder in that game. England beat New Zealand by a margin of six wickets, and seem to be in good form. Stokes also took two wickets and caused two run outs. In the first 19 overs, England hit the boundary 16 times, but New Zealand only managed to get 7 fours. However, both teams lost early wickets, and there was not a clear winner yet.
Stokes is generally an all-round player, and his performances are fairly decent. He got rather emotional after the match, saying that “he didn’t want to let anyone down.” Another player who performed well was England’s captain, Eoin Morgan. Morgan scored an impressive 62, contributing to the team effort. “Any doubts that the tourists would win were taken away by Morgan and Stokes.” quoted BBC News. In just a single inning, Morgan had scored three sixes and six fours in a single inning.
Morgan and Stokes did an 88-run partnership, which resulted in England being at 144 runs for three. Morgan was proud of Stokes and glad to see him in “fine form” for this match. Five months prior to this match, he was in a nightclub incident in Bristol. Just this month, he had pleaded not guilty to the court and was allowed to play for England. Stoke seemed a little shaky at first, and there were quite a few opportunities where he may have got out. Once he had got into his stride, however, his swings were becoming more powerful.
England had a weak fielding performance in the opening match, but it is clear they have a better fielding setup and are striving to do their very best. New Zealand’s opener Martin Guptill did well by hitting a half-century, but even he could not hold against England’s impressive fielding skills. It is clear that if England manages to do just as well in their other matches, victory is in sight for them.