Ben Stokes is a champion under pressure: Stephen Fleming

England clinched the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 title at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) following a five-wicket win to Pakistan in the summit clash. The Three Lions displayed a dominant performance throughout the game and the match saw glimpses of Pakistan fighting hard but it was not enough to get them ahead.

Ben Stokes played a match-winning knock as he struck an unbeaten 52 runs off 49 balls that included five fours and a maximum. Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming heaped praise on the star all-rounder calling him a ‘big winner’.

“He is a big presence; he is a big personality and a big winner. Those are the key ingredients that you need from being a good to a great player. What he is doing is forging a career where he is there in key moments; he wins Test matches, he’d been in some unbelievable battles and you’d back him most times to win them,” Fleming was quoted as saying to a cricket news website.

Despite chasing a below-par total of 138, Pakistan tried hard to stay in the game and attempted to mount pressure on the rival side. However, Stokes, who is known to remain headstrong during the crunch moments of the game, delivered for his side when it mattered most. Fleming further lauded Stokes’ temperament in the match and deemed him a ‘champion’.

“So, his temperament is so tested and comes through every time that you have got to say he is a champion under pressure. And there’s not many that rise to that occasion as much as he seems to do; he gets in a position where he is the main man and everyone around him feeds off that,” Fleming added.

England were at one stage in a bit of a hole when Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf kept them under control. However, Stokes showed nerves of steel and guided the side comfortably to win their second-ever T20 World Cup title after Paul Collingwood did back in 2010.