“Stokes is a nervous laddie who doesn’t learn.” Those were the “compliments” for Ben Stokes from Marlon Samuels during the post-match interaction at the Cricket Association of Bengal conference room following the West Indies’ four-wicket win over England in the 2016 World T20 final at Eden Gardens.

The England all-rounder has always had an acrimonious relationship with the former Windies batsman. But the main point of discussion that April 3 night at the Eden was Stokes getting clobbered for four maximums on the trot by Carlos Brathwaite in the deciding over when England needed him to defend 19.

A beaming Samuels, who hit an unbeaten 85 in that final, had other words to say as well, seated with his padded-up legs on the table of the CAB conference room. A shattered Stokes was then in danger of becoming a laughing stock.

But champions know when and how to lift themselves up. The 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s was an opportune one for Stokes to prove his worth. And he did so with an unbeaten 84 that forced the game into a Super Over, where England beat New Zealand on ‘boundary count’.

Three years later, at the MCG in another T20 World Cup final, Stokes had a tricky test ahead of him against a strong Pakistani bowling attack. He responded to the challenge with an innings that may look un-T20-like, but was perfect as per the situation. A match-winning innings.

From the debacle of 2016 to the triumph of 2019 to the ecstasy of 2022, Ben Stokes has climbed the peak from the deepest dungeons of disappointment. Getty Images

In other words, it was a knock that reflected his composure and awareness, especially as he got the boundaries just when England needed him to. Pakistan tried to put him under pressure, he played quite a few dot balls as well. But Stokes’ focus was shockproof.

The 2016 final didn’t return to haunt Stokes. For, this is Stokes 2.0, much stronger in terms of mindset.

“Ben has been on an amazing journey. I’ll always remember his words to Jofra (Archer) about how things don’t define you, and I think he’s obviously never let that 2016 final sort of push him back. The things he has gone on to achieve in his career since then are just amazing,” captain Jos Buttler said later.

The England skipper went on to hail Stokes as “one of the great players of English cricket”. “He’s a true match-winner, and he has been there in those scenarios time and time again.

“He just has a lot of know-how for how to do that. I think it wasn’t really his most fluent innings or probably he didn’t time the ball as well as he can. But you knew he was never going to go down without a fight and be there at the end.

“So yeah, we were immensely lucky to have him, and he’s one of the great players of English cricket,” Buttler emphasised.

The moments after the 2019 World Cup and the one on Sunday night at the MCG have both been “pretty good evening” for Stokes. But he didn’t forget to credit his teammates Sam Curran and Adil Rashid for their wonderful bowling that played a leading role first up in restricting Pakistan to a below-par total.

“In the final, especially when chasing, you probably forget all the hard work before that. Particularly, how we bowled,” Stokes said. “Adil Rashid and Sam Curran won us the game. It was a tricky wicket and one that you never felt in, so to restrict them to 130-odd, bowlers have to take a lot of credit for that.”

The shock defeat to Ireland in a rain-curtailed game earlier in the Super 12 didn’t affect England’s morale, Stokes stressed. “With that being so early in the competition, we obviously had to address it, say what had to be said and then let it go. In tournaments like these, you can’t carry baggage with you. That was a little blip on the way, but the best teams learn from their mistakes.”