Ross Taylor reveals Ben Stokes wanted to represent New Zealand
Ross Taylor with Ben Stokes
In his just-published book titled Black & White, Ross Taylor has disclosed that Ben Stokes was keen to represent New Zealand in international cricket early in his career.
Born in Christchurch, Stokes moved to England at an age of 12, along with his family. He then played for the Three Lions in the 2010 edition of the U19 World Cup.
In the same year, Taylor and Stokes played together for Durham in the County Championship, wherein the southpaw displayed his sincerity to don the Kiwi jersey.
The former batter thinks New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan could not offer much to Stokes, and wanted the then youngster to start afresh in domestic cricket.
“He was 18 or 19 and very much a Kiwi,’’ Taylor wrote.
“Over a Guinness, I asked him if he wanted to come and play in New Zealand. He was keen so I sent a message to New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan saying this guy Stokes was a really good young cricketer and interested in playing for New Zealand."
New Zealand's loss was England's gain
The 31-year-old has been a revolutionary figure for English cricket, helping them to ace crunch moments with his all-round abilities.
Stokes in Ashes 2019
Stokes' career-defiant knock in red-ball cricket came in the third game of the Ashes 2019, where he slammed an unbeaten 135 to help England to secure a thrilling victory.
His terrific knock of 84* in the 2019 ODI World Cup Finals against New Zealand helped England to lift their maiden 50-over title.
So far, Stokes has amassed 8,646 runs and scalped 275 wickets across three formats.
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