Ben Stokes, who gave an all-round performance on the last day of the second Test against South Africa, helped England to defeat the Proteas by 189-runs and ended a 63-years winless drought. After a quickfire from the bat (72 off 47), Stokes produced a magical spell on a dead pitch and took his side to the finish line.
After the memorable win, the English team was heading back to the dressing room, and during that time, Stokes came up with a hand gesture in front of the camera. He folded his middle finger and paid tribute to his ill father, Gerard Stokes.
A once in a generation cricketer. And he's ours.
No words left @benstokes38 🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/PgjxGOegip
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 7, 2020
Stokes’s father was a rugby player, and he had to cut-off his middle finger after an injury to continue playing, because he couldn’t afford a surgery.
Gerard is currently suffering from illness. He was hospitalized two days before Christmas in Johannesburg.
“I always had my dad in the back of my mind and that took any injury worries or niggles out of my head. I was thinking that he came out here to watch me and unfortunately, he’s not been able to, so there was a lot more in my efforts this game, doing it for him. I haven’t managed to speak to him yet but hopefully, I’ve made him proud. I had a text off Mum but I haven’t read it yet,” Stokes is quoted as saying by the Guardian.
