England Test skipper Ben Stokes has hailed wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes and labelled him the “best wicketkeeper in the world”.
The right-handed batter played a fighting knock of 32 runs in England’s second innings and stayed till the end with Joe Root who scored their 26th century with the willow to ensure England cross the line against the Kiwis.
Ben Foakes apart from his resilient knock took some brilliant catches behind the stumps which played a pivotal role in England’s resurgence.
“We’re not in the position to not select world-class players at the moment. Ben (Foakes) is the best wicketkeeper in the world. That’s not just my own opinion, that’s a lot of people’s opinions. Batting at seven, which he does for England, is different from the role that he plays for Surrey because he bats higher up,” Stokes was quoted as saying by mirror.co.uk.
“But that situation of going in last night, for 45 minutes, was a very, very big part of the game, and he handled it very, very well. The way he kept — he took some catches which he made look very easy but they weren’t. To have a gloveman like Ben (Foakes) behind the stumps gives me a lot of confidence, and it gives the bowlers a lot of confidence, knowing that nine times out of 10, he’s going to take everything that comes to him,” Stokes added.
The 29 year old wicketkeeper has played 12 test matches where he scored 545 runs with one hundred under his armoury. Meanwhile England will play their next game against New Zealand at Nottingham on 10th June 2022.
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