On the eve of a historic win at Lord’s, where England defeated India by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, Ben Stokes shared a hilarious moment involving teammate Jofra Archer, who hilariously confused England’s 2019 World Cup victory date with India’s iconic NatWest Series win from 2002.
Stokes Recalls Archer’s Hilarious Date Mix-Up on Another July 14 Triumph
England’s thrilling 3rd Test win coincided with the sixth anniversary of their maiden ODI World Cup title. During a conversation about the anniversary, Stokes revealed Archer got the dates mixed up.
“You know what day today is, don’t you?” Stokes had asked Archer. “You know that highlight package of India knocking off 300-odd back in the day with Ganguly? He thought that was a World Cup final. He thought that was six years ago today. Absolute beauty, that boy,” Stokes told reporters after the 3rd Test on Sunday.
Stokes shared this light-hearted anecdote during the post-match press conference. Notably, July 14 now holds double significance for the England captain, he was named Player of the Match on this day both in the 2019 World Cup final and now again for his heroic all-round display at Lord’s.
Stokes & Archer Lead Fiery Bowling Assault to Seal Series Lead
Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer delivered a blistering bowling performance to defend a modest target of 193. Archer got things rolling early by dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal for the second time in the match. On Day 5, he struck again by removing an in-form Rishabh Pant for 9(12), triggering a middle-order collapse. He finished with figures of 3/55 from 16 overs, including the wicket of Washington Sundar.
Stokes, returning from injury, put in a monumental shift, bowling 24 overs in total, including a 9-over spell in the final session. He started by dismissing nightwatchman Akash Deep on Day 4, then removed India’s mainstay KL Rahul for 39(58) on Day 5, turning the match. To further hurt the Indians, he later removed a stubborn Jasprit Bumrah after he had faced 54 balls.
England won a historic victory at Lord's thanks to Ben Stokes, who finished the innings with 3/42 and took five wickets. Stokes was named Player of the Match.
Also Read: IND vs ENG: Dinesh Karthik & Nasser Hussain reflect on India's heartbreaking loss at Lord's
