Ben Stokes bowled over all the cricket fans across the world with his stupendous performance in the Third Test of the Ashes series at Headingley on Sunday, August 25. He went past 100-run mark and totalled a score of 135 not out, which led to England's epic one-wicket win against Australia. Stokes stumped the audience again after the match as he divulged what propelled his performance – fried chicken and chocolate bars! The striking win came as a surprise though as Stokes closed on two not out off 50 balls, the previous day in Saturday's match. When asked what he managed to do in a day's time, he jokingly said, "My wife and kids came down and they got there at around 10 o'clock. My wife walked into me eating pasta in my boxer shorts! Last night, I think had a knock-off Nandos (fried chicken) and two (chocolate) bars of Yorkie biscuit and raisin, and a couple of coffees in the morning." (See video below.)
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A hearty meal like that would infuse energy into anyone. A great tip for all the sportsmen out there, though their nutritionists might never agree!
Ben Stokes had already won many hearts when he led his team to World Cup final win against New Zealand at Lord's last month. The 28-year-old left-handed batsman reached new heights with this innings. "We knew if we lost this game then the Ashes were gone.When a No 11 comes out needing 70 (73 in fact) to win, I knew what I had to do in terms of the game situation," the added.
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The cricket fraternity are all praises for the spectacular show by Ben Stokes. The century hit is being pegged as his greatest achievement, even surpassing his feats in the World Cup.
"The only time I started to get a little bit nervous or panicking was when we got into single figures. Walking off there at the end when the whole of Headingley was standing up and celebrating was a very special moment and something I had to try to take in because moments like that don't come along very often," the cricketer reminisced.