Top 5 ODI innings of 2019

1. Ben Stokes (84* off 98 vs New Zealand, Lord’s)

Ben Stokes played a brilliant innings on the biggest stage of cricket

Most people still remember the World Cup final for its thrilling finish and the supposed unfairness of the rules that denied New Zealand the trophy. However, most people forget what happened before the match ended in a tie.

The very reason England managed to take the game into the super over was a magnificent innings by Ben Stokes.

Chasing a modest-looking target of 242, England seemed in all sorts of trouble at 86/4. Imagine the pressure on the two batsmen at the crease at that moment, Stokes and Jos Buttler. They were being tested by a brilliant Kiwi bowling attack that kept increasing the pressure of the required run-rate on England.

When Buttler was dismissed for 59, England still needed 46 runs off 31 deliveries. But Stokes soldiered on.

Yes, he did benefit from the lucky break of a throw from the deep that deflected off his bat and went to the boundary. But that only mattered because the great all-rounder had brought his team tantalizingly close to winning the match.

The fact that this innings was played when the stakes were as high as they can be in cricket, and against a top-class bowling attack, and when his team were in trouble, makes it one of the greatest innings in World Cup history.

The way Stokes managed to suck up all the pressure and take his team to the title makes this, undoubtedly, the best knock of the year.