ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is going to raise the curtain in just a few hours. Fans across the globe are ready to cheer for their favorite team. In the first match, England will be facing New Zealand in the inaugural match of the biggest cricket competition. England was last year’s defending champion. This time they will also try to finish on the high.
In the 2019 World Cup final, England beat New Zealand in the Super Over and won their maiden World Cup trophy. New Zealand was so close to winning but in the end, England nailed it. It was disheartening for the New Zealand team. In the first match, they will be trying to take the revenge.
This time England will also try hard to keep the trophy along with them. But situations are a bit different from the previous edition. This time, India is hosting the tournament. Indian conditions are a bit different. Though English players have a brief idea about the Indian condition because of the IPL, they may face a few challenges.
Now, the most important question is who will be the ‘X-Factor’ for the England team? England has several talented players in both batting and bowling units. They are in good rhythm. But the ‘X-Factor’ is who will make the difference and contribute to the team to achieve the main goal. In this article, we will be discussing the fact, of who will be the ‘X-Factor’ for the England team.
The ‘X-Factor’:
‘X-Factor’ is all about the unusual person who can contribute to the team in need. Someone who can be the key to achieving the goal is called the ‘X-Factor’. England’s team has many talents. But Ben Stokes can be the perfect ‘X-Factor’ of the team. Now a question can be raised, why not Jos Buttler or other players? Why it is only Stokes? The answer is here.
Ben Stokes is a complete all-rounder. He can contribute in both ways, batting and bowling. He is one of the experienced players on the squad. This all-rounder of England made his ODI debut back in 2011 against Ireland in Dublin.
He is a perfect all-rounder. He has played 108 ODI matches till now and scored 3159 runs. That is huge. His highest score in this format is registered as 182. He has scored 4 centuries and 22 half-centuries. His batting average is 40.50. He plays with a strike rate of 96.36.
In the bowling, he has promising stats. In these 108 ODI matches, he took 74 wickets. His bowling economy rate is 6.05. He has one 4-wicket haul and one 5-wicket haul in this format.
What makes him the perfect ‘X-Factor’?
People can ask what makes him the perfect ‘X-Factor’ for England in this World Cup. The answer is his terrific knocks. Here is some example of his responsible knocks that makes him the right person for this position.
The first one is 99 runs in 52 balls against India in 2021. Both teams were playing a three-match ODI series in 2021. In that series, Stokes was in a good rhythm. In that match, India put a giant total of 336-6 on the board. While chasing this stokes came out as a beast. He scored a half-century in 40 balls. He reached on 99 in just 52 balls. His out was unfortunate. He made a valuable partnership of 175 runs. But when he was on 99, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took his wicket. It was the quickest 99 in ODI cricket.
The second one was the 102* in 109 balls against Australia. It was a match of the Champions Trophy 2017. England and Australia were playing the match. Australia was in terrific form. They were controlling the match. Along with former England captain Eoin Morgan, Stokes made a neddy partnership. They added 159 runs on the board. From that pressure situation, Ben Stokes took the team out of the trouble
Those two were just examples of his batting supremacy. Apart from those two, many times he served the team in need. One more quality of him is to contribute with the ball. He can take precious wickets in the team’s need. He can be a perfect ‘X-Factor’ for the team.
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