Eoin Morgan hails 'superhuman' England star Ben Stokes and urges young cricket fans to follow his lead

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Eoin Morgan has paid tribute to World Cup final man of the match Ben Stokes, claiming he is the England player young cricket fans should grow up wanting to emulate.

Morgan’s side edged New Zealand in an epic Lord’s final on Sunday to claim their first World Cup, eventually winning on boundary countback after both the regulation innings and a super over finished in a tie.

It was Stokes who kept England’s hopes alive after their top order failed, leading the recovery from 86-4 in a century stand with Jos Buttler that eventually saw them match New Zealand’s total of 241 off the final ball of their 50th over.

Stokes rode his luck along the way – Trent Boult treading on the boundary when catching him in the deep, and four runs brought inadvertently off his bat as he dived to prevent being run out – but finished unbeaten on 84, batting superbly with the tail to force a super over in which he and Buttler scored 15 runs.

In Pictures | England celebrate World Cup win over New Zealand

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“He's almost superhuman,” Morgan said of the Durham all-rounder. “He really carried the team and our batting line-up.

“I know Jos and his partnership was extraordinary, but to bat with the lower order the way he did, I thought was incredible.

“The atmosphere, the emotion that was going through the whole game, he managed to deal with that in an extremely experienced manner. And obviously everybody watching at home will hopefully try and be the next Ben Stokes.”

Stokes was installed as the favourite for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award immediately after the final, and his rise to national hero and role model caps a remarkable transformation.

Off the field, the 28-year-old is a reformed character, following a 2018 incident outside a Bristol nightclub that threatened to derail his career, while on it he has bounced back from the chastening experience of conceding 24 runs off the crucial last over in England’s T20 World Cup final defeat three years ago.

England cricket fans celebrate in Trafalgar Square

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“I have said this a number of times about Ben,” Morgan said. “I think a lot of careers would have been ended after what happened in Calcutta [at the World T20].

“Ben on numerous occasions has stood up individually and in a unit for us. He leads the way in training, in any team meetings we have, and he's an incredible cricketer. And today he's had a huge day out and obviously we are thankful for that.”

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