England cricket captain got some custom-made cricket gear created to honour his late dad before using them to stick the boot into Australia’s elderly Ashes side with a sensational spell of bowling
Ben Stokes put the boot in on Australia on an epic opening day of the Ashes – thanks to special shoes inspired by his late dad.
The England skipper had the custom-made cricket gear created to give him the edge in what is expected to be a nervy contest of cliffhangers.
And fans hailed the beyond-the-grave nudge for spurring on Stokes to a Herculean performance to drag his team back from the abyss after they were skittled out for just 172. Meanwhile, TNT’s Ashes coverage has been roundly slammed by disgruntled fans.
He summoned up the spirit of his sportsman father Ged – a former New Zealand rugby league international – to take five wickets and leave the Aussies reeling on 123 for nine.
England’s jubilant Barmy Army posted pictures of their hero posing with his shoes on their X site hailing his ‘bonkers bowling’ and ‘bouncebackablity’, adding: “Have you ever seen anything like that?”
A picture of him celebrating was captioned: “Our superman. Magic performance from England skipper Ben Stokes today.”
Kent and England batsman Sam Billings tweeted simply: “Stokes. Ridiculous cricketer.”
News of his shoe-in to success emerged before a ball was bowled in front of a record 51,531 crowd in Perth where England launched their bid to win the Ashes for the first time in a decade.
The Barmy Army announced ‘Stokesy will wear a pair of bespoke shoes’ as a ‘tribute to his late father Ged’.
The captain worked with artist Jordan Dawson and sportswear manufacturer Adidas to include two special symbols on his shoes.
One was an illustration of the hand gesture Stokes does when celebrating which is a tribute to Ged who died from brain cancer in 2020 aged 64.
The rugby ace, who as a New Zealander also had an intense rivalry with the Aussies, had a finger amputated during his career.
Stokes, 34, said: “I think everyone knows the story of my dad injuring his finger playing rugby and having it removed.
“Since he passed away the hand gesture is a celebration I’ve done in memory of him.”
The shoes also bear a phoenix motif.
Stokes has a tattoo of the mythological bird – known for its ability to rise from the ashes – on his arm.
The cricketer’s 2022 Amazon Prime documentary was called Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes.
He said: “I’ve got a phoenix as a big part of the tattoo on my right arm so it was something I was keen to include in the design.
“I’ve had a long career in sport and the phoenix has come to signify my belief that whenever you’re down you can rise again.
“It’s been a rewarding process working with Adidas and Jordan to bring it all together.
“Hopefully it can give me some extra inspiration on the pitch too.”
Other fans suggested Stokes’ new mullet-style haircut may have played a part.
One wrote online: “Is mullet Ben Stokes the best Ben Stokes in the history of Ben Stokes?”