England star all-rounder Ben Stokes and swashbuckler Jos Buttler were honored with OBE and MBE respectively, by the Royal family on Tuesday.
OBE stands for Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, while MBE stands for Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
The two were rewarded for their outstanding contribution to English cricket, following England’s maiden ODI World Cup win in 2019, and subsequent Ashes victory.
Ben Stokes‘ 84* single-handedly helped the England team draw level with runners-up New Zealand, who took the finals to the Super Over. He then helped the Three Lions post a challenging total in front of the Black Caps in the tie-breaker.
🎖 Ben Stokes OBE
🏅 Jos Buttler MBECongratulations @benstokes38 & @josbuttler! 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZHPJ8A4Y11
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 25, 2020
Jos Buttler, on the other hand, was rewarded for his composure in the final ball of the Super Over, where he gathered the throw from Jason Roy and ran Martin Guptill out.
🏏 Congratulations @benstokes38 OBE, honoured at Buckingham Palace today for services to Cricket by The Duke of Cambridge 🎖️ pic.twitter.com/A6u6pMnk2X
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 25, 2020
Stokes then single-handedly chased down a steep total against Australia during the Headingley Test, with one of the best Test match knocks ever (135*).
England’s Test captain Joe Root, along with limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss was also felicitated as part of the New Year’s Honours List at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
England continued their dominance in International cricket, by defeating South Africa in their backyard during the Test series 3-1, and also the T20I series 2-1.
