England World Cup semi-final is biggest game of our careers, says Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes wants England to secure World Cup redemption against the team they love to beat the most, having described the box office semifinal against Australia on Thursday as the biggest match of their careers to date.
Eoin Morgan’s England players are looking to become the first to reach a World Cup final since Graham Gooch’s class of 1992 and deliver a return on four years of heavy investment in the 50-over side. To do so, however, they must also inflict Australia’s first defeat at the semi-final stage.
History is with the five-time champions. In their past four World Cup encounters Australia have claimed the spoils, including the 62-run group stage win at Lord’s a fortnight ago that threatened to derail England’s campaign. But Stokes, who raged against that defeat with a defiant 89, fancies revenge is now on the cards.
Asked after training on Tuesday whether the World Cup semi-final is the most important game of his life, Stokes replied: “Yes, to date. Definitely. It’s a massive occasion for us as players and as a nation.
“Playing against Australia is a big occasion in any sport. The rivalry goes way back and we have the Ashes this summer too. Beating them is that touch better than any other team.
“Losing to them at Lord’s was massively disappointing, so I think there will be a bit of redemption for that, knowing we have the chance to beat them and reach that final.”
On his own typically full throttle approach to pre-match preparation, Stokes said: “I’m not letting up because this is the crucial moment. We don’t have another game. Lose this and we’re out.”
There is no sense of redemption on a personal level, however, with Stokes insisting he is not fuelled by a desire to repay Morgan, his teammates and fans for their support following the 2017 Bristol incident.
Instead the all-rounder’s strong form – he has averaged 54 with the bat and 29 with the ball during the tournament – is simply about helping to turn England’s hard-earned status as the world’s No 1 team into silverware.
Stokes said: “It opened my eyes up to a lot of things, two years ago, but I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. It’s just showing I can deliver on the biggest stage. Winning is the most important thing and, if you can help the team out with an individual performance, that’s all that counts. People can say good things, bad things ... it just won’t bother me.”
Attention will again be on the reception for Steve Smith and David Warner at Edgbaston, with Australia’s two leading batsmen having been booed throughout the World Cup following year-long bans for the ball-tampering scandal last year.
Morgan, the captain, insisted before Lord’s it was not his place to issue instructions to supporters, a stance Stokes has backed. But as a teammate of Smith in the Indian Premier League, and having seen Warner deliver three centuries this tournament, there is admiration for the pair also.
Stokes said: “I’ve been to Australia and [the crowds] are just non-stop. But I have huge respect for Smith and Warner for performing like they have, being able to block all that out.
“I sit with Morgs on it, it’s up to the crowd. But respect to them for dealing with the on-field pressures and the crowds while still delivering.”
Stokes put his own returns with the bat down to growing experience of all conditions and situations, while his seven wickets have come by looking to dry up the runs – rather than send down magic deliveries – following a clarification of his role with Morgan.
The 28-year-old is expected once again to be part of a five-man England seam attack augmented by Adil Rashid’s leg-spin, with Liam Plunkett having proved indispensable in the middle overs and still unbeaten, personally, after missing the defeats by Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia.
On Australia’s semi-final record of six wins (and a tie that secured their progress to the final in 1999), Plunkett said: “It’s experience. They’ve been there done it. Not against this bunch of players, obviously. We’re a different sort of animal compared to our last teams. We’ve played well over the last four years. We’ve been ranked No1 and we’re feeling in a good place. They’re a great team but we feel on our day we can beat anyone in the world.
“With what’s to come after it, a World Cup final, it’s huge. It would be nice to finish the four years leading up to the World Cup by winning it. We don’t ‘deserve’ it – no one ‘deserves’ to win it – but we deserve to be in the semi-final and give it our best shot.”