All rounders are what ODIs are all about. A team may have a great batting or bowling line-up but it is the utility players, the bits and pieces players – call them in any cricketing jargon – who will remain the key contributors. Ben Stokes provided enough evidence of this while shaping England’s comfortable victory over South Africa in the opening match of the World Cup on Thursday. A cricketer who can contribute with both bat and ball is a team’s trump card.
The dynamic Stokes who turns 28 on June 4 has been around for quite a while. He is an integral part of the Test and limited overs squads as with his ubiquitous qualities he is quite irreplaceable. Perhaps his biggest triumph will always be the remarkable 258 off 198 balls against South Africa in the Cape Town Test three years ago. The absolute fierce manner in which he struck the ball during that innings underlined the power that he can unleash as he ended up with 30 fours and eleven sixes.
But while his feats in Test cricket have been well chronicled not as well documented are his exploits in the shorter versions of the game. The fact of the matter he has quite often pulled in his weight for England particularly in ODIs as three hundreds, 16 half centuries, an average of 38 and a strike rate of almost 95 allied to a four wicket haul and a five wicket haul will symbolize. A cricketer of supreme natural talent Stokes is a key figure in England’s campaign and should they win their maiden World Cup, it is likely that he would have played a major role.
The point to note is that all rounders have a major role to play in ODIs and the team which has a number of quality such players is bound to be at an advantage. England have three in Stokes, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali and besides their fearsome batting line-up this is another reason why England are favourites. One would also look out for other teams who have two or three front line all rounders in their squads for they would seem to have an edge over other sides in the competitions. It does not have to be a hundred or a five wicket haul as Stokes proved on Thursday. A half century allied to two or three wickets will suffice and if the player can also bring off the kind of wondrous catch that Stokes pulled off that will be a major bonus.
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