Andrew Flintoff says the best is still yet to come from Ben Stokes after the England all-rounder was crowned as Wisden’s leading cricketer in the world.
Stokes was announced the winner of the prestigious honours in the 2020 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, which was published on Thursday.
The 28-year-old Durham ace is the first Englishman to win the award since Flintoff in 2005.
Could it really have been anyone else?
Congratulations @benstokes38Image may be NSFW.
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— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 8, 2020
It’s Stokes’ latest top accolade following his heroics last summer, when he inspired England to an unforgettable triumph in the World Cup before producing one of the greatest innings of all time to win the Ashes Test at Headingley.
Stokes’ other recent gongs include the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December and the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for ICC men’s player of the year.
But, acclaim from the famous ‘yellow book’ has always held a special place in cricketing culture, with editor Lawrence Booth saying: “Ben Stokes pulled off the performance of a lifetime – twice in the space of a few weeks. First, with a mixture of outrageous talent and good fortune, he rescued England’s run-chase in the World Cup final, before helping to hit 15 off the super over.
“Then, in the third Ashes Test at Headingley, he produced one of the great innings, smashing an unbeaten 135 to pinch a one-wicket win. Against red ball or white, he was a force of nature.”
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However, Flintoff believes we still haven’t seen the best cricket Stokes can produce and expects the all-rounder to become ever better with the ball and bat.
“He is unbelievable,” said the England legend and newly-announced member of the talkSPORT Breakfast team.
“And the scary thing with Ben is I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him.
“You look at when he performs, it’s all the big moments, those key moments of games, whether it’s World Cup finals or the Ashes.
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“As a batter he is technically amazing, and as bowler he’s getting better all the time.
“So it’s no surprise he’s getting all these accolades, but I think there’s so many more to come in the future.
“Ben Stokes now and the Ben Stokes in 18 months could be a different animal again.
“It’s so exciting.”