England all-rounder Ben Stokes jokingly commented that he apologized to Jason Roy after he broke the record for the highest individual score by an England batsman in men’s ODIs. Stokes scored a brilliant 182 off just 124 balls in the third ODI against New Zealand at the Kennington Oval in London on Wednesday, September 13. With his brilliant innings, the left-handed batsman overtook Roy’s record for most runs by an England batsman.
One ODI innings. Roy scored 180 runs in 151 balls against Australia in Melbourne in January 2018. Stokes’ brilliant innings included 15 fours and nine sixes. Due to his brilliance, England scored a mammoth score of 368 runs in 48.1 overs after being sent into bat by New Zealand at The Oval. In the post-match presentation, Stokes, who was named Player of the Match, was asked for his reaction to Roy breaking the record. He replied cheekily and said:
“I apologized to him upstairs.”
On a serious note, the 32-year-old added the following about his innings:
“It felt good. Obviously, coming back into the team after a while. I’ve always said it’s nice to contribute towards winning games as well.
"I apologised to him [Jason Roy] upstairs" 😅
Ben Stokes reacts to breaking the highest ODI runs record for England 💪 pic.twitter.com/VaF7bEXZ4x
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 13, 2023
While Stokes enjoyed batting on the surface, New Zealand were all out for 187 in 39 overs. The England all-rounder admitted that things became difficult for the batsmen in the second innings.
He said:
“It was a good wicket. I think the conditions actually changed once the lights came on. I thought the ball was offering a lot. It was pretty obvious by the way that Woakesy and Topley bowled at the top. We spoke about putting New Zealand under a bit more pressure that we did in the first two games especially at the top,”
With the ball, Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone took three wickets each for England, while Reece Topley took two wickets.
Also Read: “Malan Is A Very Consistent Player” – Ben Stokes
During England’s innings, Ben Stokes made a 199-run partnership with Dawid Malan (96 off 95) for the third wicket. He hit 12 fours and a six before being caught out on the leg off Trent Boult. Praising Malan, Stokes commented:
“Malan is a very consistent player; he is a very quality player. He comes in and everyone knows what he is about. He was unlucky to strangle one there down the leg side, but enjoyed batting with him. Not only did we take the boundaries, but we managed to rotate the strike as well.”
History-making 📝
Record-breaking 💪
Unreal @benstokes38 🙌 pic.twitter.com/WlEGKnENhW— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 13, 2023
England and New Zealand will now face each other in the fourth and final ODI of the series at Lord’s on Friday, September 15.
