English cricketer Ben Stokes was given a royal honour at Buckingham Palace after guiding his team to the World Cup victory last year. The all-rounder was awarded an OBE, which stands for Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Stokes’ timely 84* helped the English team reach a tie with New Zealand, taking the final match of the World Cup to the Super Over. Stokes also helped his team in the tie-breaker over by setting a challenging score for the Black Caps, ultimately leading his team to victory.
Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Joe Root, and coach Trevor Bayliss also received the honours as part of the New Year’s Honours List. Bayliss also received an OBE, while Buttler received an MBE, which stands for Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
All of them received their awards from the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William.
Buttler also contributed heavily following a remarkable year for England, who beat New Zealand to win the men’s World Cup for the first time. Stokes had contributed to his team’s victory during the Headingley Test, chasing down a steep total against Australia, resulting in one of the best Test matches knocks ever at 135*.
The left-handed batsman had also played a knock of 84 runs in the final to tie the game, also batting in the Super Over to help England to achieve victory.
During the Super Over, when Buttler and Stokes were playing, the former had been part of a major moment in the final when he gathered the thrown form Jason Roy and ran Martin Guptill out. His doing so made England win on the basis of the boundary countback rule.
England won their maiden ICC World Cup trophy in 2019, making Buttler’s and Stokes’ contribution all the more important. Their subsequent victory in the Ashes also cemented the English team as a force to be reckoned with.
