Ben Stokes - On Fire: My Story of Englands Summer to Remember

Copyright 2019 BAS Promotions Limited

The right of Ben Stokes to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

First published in 2019 by Headline Publishing Group

First published as an Ebook in Great Britain

by Headline Publishing Group in 2019

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

Jacket design by Patrick Insole

Front cover photograph Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Back cover photograph Philip Brown/Popperfoto via Getty Images

Author photograph Larry Rostant

Hardback ISBN 978 1 4722 7125 9

eISBN: 978 1 4722 7126 6

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2: FOCUS
England v South Africa, The Oval

3: ATTITUDE
England v Bangladesh, Sophia Gardens

4: SMARTS
England v India, Edgbaston

5: ADRENALINE
New Zealand v England, Lords, World Cup Final

6: DESTINY
New Zealand v England, Lords, World Cup Final, Super Over

8: TRANSITIONS
England v Ireland, Lords

9: BELIEF
England v Australia, Second Test, Lords

10: ECSTASY
England v Australia, Third Test, Headingley

11: LEADERSHIP
England v Australia, Fourth Test, Old Trafford

12: PRIDE
England v Australia, Fifth Test, The Oval

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1991, Ben Stokes moved to Cumbria with his family at the age of 11. He made his debut for Durham CCC in 2009, and just two years later pulled on an England shirt for the first time.

He has scored the fastest Test century at Lords and Englands fastest Test double-century. His bowling spell of 6-36 at Trent Bridge in August 2015 helped England to regain the Ashes.

In July 2019 Stokes received the Player of the Match accolade in the ICC Cricket World Cup final as England won the tournament for the first time. In the summers Ashes series, he scored 441 runs at an average of more than 55, including two centuries and two fifties. His 135 not out in the second innings at Headingley will be remembered as one of the greatest innings in Test history.

Stokes has played for the Melbourne Renegades in Australias Big Bash League, and Rising Pune Supergiant and the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

He is married with two young children.

He is the Special One, and I intend to call him that for the rest of his career Sir Ian Botham, Daily Telegraph

There are not enough superlatives to describe Ben Stokes Nasser Hussain, Daily Mail

The undisputed hero of English cricket The Times

Stokes is unstoppable now, a colossal superman Michael Vaughan, Daily Telegraph

He was a giant, spinning the planet with his foot, his bat producing mighty claps of thunder Martin Samuel, Daily Mail

Firestarter

Early evening on Sunday 14th July 2019. Lords Cricket Ground, London.

Something unprecedented had just happened: England had won the Cricket World Cup for the very first time. At the epicentre of Englands historic triumph was Ben Stokes, the all-rounder with an insatiable appetite for The Big Occasion. He contributed a critical 84 runs when England batted, a nerveless innings of discipline and maturity. Thrillingly, it was enough to tie the scores at 241 runs each, so the match reverted to a Super Over. Stokes and Jos Buttler saw England to 15 runs off their six balls. When it was finally confirmed that Martin Guptill had been run out off the very last ball of New Zealands Super Over with the scores level once again, England had won on the boundary count-back, and the nation could finally breathe again.

Early evening on Sunday 25th August 2019. A sun-drenched Headingley, Leeds.

Having been bowled out for just 67 earlier in the Third Test, England were facing the prospect of failing to regain the Ashes. In their second innings they were still 73 runs short of victory with a solitary wicket remaining. Cue one of the most amazing innings ever witnessed as Ben Stokes thrashed the Australian bowlers to all corners of the ground, in the process scoring 135 not out, driving England to a barely-believable victory, and keeping the series alive. The nation took another breath.

In On Fire , Ben Stokes tells the story of Englands electrifying first ever World Cup triumph, as well as the summers momentous Ashes Test series. It is the ultimate insiders account of the most nerve-shredding but riveting three-and-a-half months in English cricket history.

To Clare, Layton, Libby, Mam, Dad, Jane and all those
involved with the England cricket team.
For all your love and support.

This unbelievable year in my life would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of others. To these people I offer my heartfelt thanks.

To my England teammates and the support staff who all contributed towards 2019 being so exciting and so rewarding the hours of hard work paid off. Without the efforts of all of you guys it would not have been such a summer to remember.

To Neil Fairbrother and all at Phoenix Management: we are like a family, and the combination of time and effort you put into looking after the interests of each player in this family is nothing short of remarkable.

To Jonathan Taylor and Tom Whiting and all at Headline Publishing Group, for giving me the opportunity to be able to relive these events in my own words.

To Richard Gibson, for helping me put it all together. It was a pleasure working with you again.

To Clare, Layton, Libby, Mam, Dad and my mother-in-law Jane youve been through all the highs and lows with me. I love you all.

Years like this do not come around very often. For the few England players like me who are members of both the Test and one-day international set-ups, a fixture list that included a World Cup and an Ashes series on home soil offered a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Quite simply, these events represent the two biggest prizes in cricket, and just to be involved in matches of this magnitude is an unbelievable thrill. Justifiably, however, we were not just looking at participating but winning. We knew we were as prepared as we could be for double success.

To be crowned a world champion is a highlight in any professional athletes career. People associate such triumphs with great planning in the build-up, but I view things slightly differently. It is not as though you get to the start of a tournament and begin formulating a strategy that is going to make you successful, embark on the kind of physical work required to get you through a schedule of up to 11 matches in seven weeks, or talk about the challenges that conditions will throw up.