Morgan: Players share Stokes’ pain

Cricket365
April 21, 2016

England captain Eoin Morgan said the team would rally behind bowler Ben Stokes after his final over saw the West Indies smash their way past 19 runs to the World Twenty20 title on Sunday.

The Windies needed 156 to win, and needed 19 off the last over. Carlos Brathwaite was on strike and he proceeded to smash Stokes for four consecutive sixes to end the match with two balls to spare.

Morgan said of Stokes: "It's quite simple from my point of view. He is going to be devastated, and it'll take its toll over the next couple of days.

"But we share everything that we do, we stick together as a side, we share the pain, we share the success, now and in the future.

"I can't fault anything we did with the ball today, we were exceptional, there was a tremendous amount of belief at the halfway stage that we'd put a score on the board and we were right in the game.

"But we let ourselves down tremendously with the bat. I thought we were terrible, probably 40 short on a 180-190 wicket.

"But you can say what you like to [Stokes] at the moment, but he's probably not hearing it."

Windies batsman Marlon Samuels, who made 85 not out, rubbed salt into the wounds after the match by saying that Stokes was always one to bowl a few bad balls, and all Brathwaite had to do was wait for them.

Samuels said: "Stokes is a nervous laddie, so what I tell Braithwaite is to just hold his pose, and he's going to bowl a couple of full tosses, as always, and it will work in our favour.

"And he played a brilliant knock at the end there to give me a little break down at the other end."

For his part, Stokes tweeted after the match: "Overwhelmed by all the support of everyone after a disappointing last over. So proud to of represented my country in a World Cup final.

"To everyone who has supported us thank you very much you've been awesome … congrats to the West Indies on winning a great final."