Ben Stokes has been crowned the ICC Player of the Year after an unforgettable 2019.


The England all-rounder played some unreal cricket and was almost single-handedly responsible for some of the most memorable moments in English cricketing history.

His sublime 84 in that helter-skelter World Cup final at Lords somehow dragged England to their first World Cup title on an extraordinary day.

He then followed that up with a heroic lone stand at Headingly, battering the revered Australian attack - with some help from cult hero Jack Leach - for 135 to keep the Ashes alive.

The fact that England were even in such a position was due to the graft of Stokes with ball in hand as well, after he bowled himself into the ground to haul the Three Lions back into the game.

While England would have to settle for a drawn series, in the end, Stokes could hold his head up high after an incredible summer of cricket.

Unsurprisingly, the fiery Durham man has now been awarded the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers trophy - given to the world's best player of the year - for his unreal efforts in 2019.

Stokes racked up some massively impressive stats over the voting period and was quite simply the only choice for the award.



'Stokesy' - as he is affectionately known - scored 719 runs and bagged 12 wickets in 20 ODI's while scoring 821 runs and taking 22 wickets in 21 tests.

As is his way, Stokes chose to praise his teammates during his acceptance speech.

“It is quite flattering to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year.

"The past 12 months have been incredible for England cricket and to lift the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time was our greatest achievement.


“This award is testament to my teammates and the support staff that have been there every step of the way.

"Fundamentally, without the support of these individuals, we would never have achieved our objective of lifting a major trophy.

“There is an incredible bond between teammates and to savour our achievements, whether that’s winning the World Cup Final at Lord’s or digging deep to win a Test match against Australia at Headingley.


“The last 12 months have been the best in my career, and I believe what we attained will be the catalyst to achieve further success over the next few years.”

Now, Stokes is continuing on where he left off in 2019, bowling the South African's out in Cape Town to wrestle yet another win out of the hands of England's enemies.

It is difficult to see how 2020 could be any better for Stokes, but one thing is for sure, he is going to try everything he can to make it another year to remember.