Ben Stokes Wins Man of the Match but Feels the Award Means Little After Draw with India

Ben Stokes has been named Man of the Match in two consecutive Tests. As much as he was happy to be named Man of the Match at Lord’s, the England captain was as disappointed in Manchester. The reason, of course, is that his team could not win the match this time. Despite trying hard, they could not defeat India. That is why Stokes is upset. Even this award has no value to him.

Stokes was named Man of the Match for his five-wicket haul with the ball and a century with the bat in India’s first innings. While accepting the award, he said, “For an all-rounder, the real importance is the result of the game. If I could have won, then this award would have been important. I couldn’t win. So it’s worthless. We tried hard. But we couldn’t beat India.”

England were 311 runs ahead of India in the first innings. India batted 143 overs in the second innings. England managed to take only 4 wickets. Stokes praised India’s fight. He said, “The way Washington and Jadeja played was extraordinary. Once or twice it felt like there was a chance to win. But this Indian team is difficult to beat. They proved that.”

Stokes created England’s chance to win on the fifth day. He dismissed Lokesh Rahul after 90 runs. Stokes also troubled Shubman Gill several times. But he could not trouble Jadeja and Sundar. Explaining the reason, the English captain said, “There was uneven bounce on the pitch for the right-handed batsmen. I was using that. But it was not there for the left-handed batsmen. So I could not trouble them. I could not take advantage of the rough created on the wicket.” England bowled 257 overs in two innings. The team’s four pacers had to bowl a lot. It was clear from their body language that they were tired. And so Stokes handed the ball to two part-time bowlers, Joe Root and Harry Brook, at the end. He said, “This Test has put a lot of strain on the bowlers’ bodies. After the ball got old, I was not getting much benefit from the pitch. So I did not want to take risks at the end.”