Ben Stokes stuns cricket fans as England make T20 World Cup history

Ben Stokes once again showed his coolness under pressure to help guide England to a historic T20 World Cup victory and to become the first nation to hold both white-ball titles at the same time.

Stokes' unbeaten 52 against Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday night helped guide his team to T20 World Cup glory, following a brilliant spell from Sam Curran.

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While Stokes would admit he struggled at times during the tough innings, he will forever rank it as one of his most important.

England were reeling at 4-84 in chase of a modest total of 8-137 as Pakistan's fearsome pace attack were causing serious problems on a tricky pitch.

But Stokes stayed calm and ensured England became the first team to hold the T20 and ODI World Cups at the same time, stamping themselves cricket's white ball kings.

Captain Jos Buttler, who sits alongside Stokes as England's finest white ball cricketer, hailed the 31-year-old's contribution.

"(Stokes) always stands up in the biggest moments, he's a man who can take a lot of pressure on his shoulders and perform," Buttler told reporters at the MCG.

"When he's still out in the middle, you know you're in with a good chance."

The cricket world was quick to praise the allrounder's efforts, which has seen him increasingly become the go-to man when times get tough for his nation.

Ben Stokes completes T20 World CUp redemption

To become a nerveless icon of the modern game, Stokes had to experience heartbreak in a final six years ago.

England were in the box seat to win the 2016 decider, with the West Indies still needing 19 runs for victory from the final over.

But in front of a pulsating crowd at Kolkata's Eden Gardens, Stokes was clubbed by West Indian Carlos Brathwaite for four consecutive sixes to steal an unlikely title.

Rather than be haunted by those memories, Stokes has been inspired and added another chapter to his career in front of 80,462 fans at the MCG.

Stokes has now performed heroics in all three-formats of the game.

A stoic and relentless knock at Headingley, which he scored 135 not out, helped England save the Test match against Australia and ultimately saved a draw for the series.

He scored 84 not out in the ODI World Cup final, before his latest heroics in Australia.

The fallout of the 2016 T20 loss was a focus of Stokes' documentary, Phoenix from the Ashes, released this year.

"It's an amazing story, really," Buttler said.

"It's a shame he did his documentary a year early, he could have added this in.

"He's been on an amazing journey to have all these big moments.

"I always remember his words (in the 2019 ODI final) to (England quick) Jofra (Archer) that things don't define you.

"He's obviously never let the 2016 final push him back and the things he's gone on to achieve in his career since then has been amazing.

"We're immensely lucky to have him because he's one of the great players of English cricket."

Stokes made the shock call in July to retire from ODIs, saying he could no longer dedicate himself to playing all three formats for England.

But the ECB will be trying seriously hard to change his mind for their 50-over World Cup defence in India next year.

with AAP

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