Cricket News

Ben Stokes feels that this player is the best wicketkeeper in the world

England kicked off their new era in the red-ball format under Ben Stokes, with a win over New Zealand in the Lord’s Test. Former captain Joe Root came up with an unbeaten ton in the fourth innings to ensure that his side emerge victorious.

However, England’s wicket-keeper batter Ben Foakes took some brilliant catches during the game. In what turned out to be an icing over the cake, he also scored an unbeaten knock of 32 runs off 92 balls during the fourth innings. Speaking to mirror.co.uk, England’s captain labelled him as “the best wicket keeper of the world” after his crucial contribution in the first Test.

“Ben (Foakes) behind the stumps gives me a lot of confidence, and it gives the bowlers a lot of confidence” – Ben Stokes

Stokes also spoke about how Foakes does well despite batting lower down the order for England. It is quite different from his natural batting position which he gets for his County side, Surrey. He said: “We’re not in the position to not select world-class players at the moment. Ben (Foakes) is the best wicketkeeper in the world. That’s not just my own opinion, that’s a lot of people’s opinions. Batting at seven, which he does for England, is different from the role that he plays for Surrey because he bats higher up,”

Stokes also praised his mentality for the way he handled the crunchy situation in the match. He added: “But that situation of going in last night, for 45 minutes, was a very, very big part of the game, and he handled it very, very well. The way he kept — he took some catches which he made look very easy but they weren’t. To have a gloveman like Ben (Foakes) behind the stumps gives me a lot of confidence, and it gives the bowlers a lot of confidence, knowing that nine times out of 10, he’s going to take everything that comes to him,”

Ben Foakes will be in action again for England as they are scheduled to face the Kiwis in the second Test match from 10 – 14 June at Nottingham. After winning the first match, Ben Stokes’s army will look to continue the winning momentum in the upcoming matches.