Stokes shines in demolition of Otago

Canterbury all-rounder Ben Stokes plays a reverse sweep on his way to a magnificent 97 in his...
Canterbury all-rounder Ben Stokes plays a reverse sweep on his way to a magnificent 97 in his side’s 134-run twenty20 win over Otago in Christchurch yesterday. Photo: Getty Images
Dear Otago, Thanks very much for getting Ben Stokes back into form.

England has been finding the Ashes a little tough and we could use the classy all-rounder for the next match.

We really enjoyed watching the left-hander pummel 93 from 47 balls to help Canterbury reach a mammoth 217 for nine at Hagley Oval yesterday.

It was a Canterbury record score and the 134-run win was a New Zealand record-winning margin.

We are not sure which of the seven sixes he hit gave us the most pleasure. They were all pretty good. Your coach, Rob Walter, was right in describing him as a "class act".

"It was just a matter of time before he got into some form," Walter said.

"No doubt there were a couple of things we could have done better. But when we did miss, he would hit it for six."

Your bloke, Jacob Duffy, bowled very well, considering. His five for 39 was jolly good. He eventually removed our Ben as well, although it was a pyrrhic victory. Neil Broom made the catch down at long off in the last over to deny Stokesy a brilliant ton.

"He bowled one over which went for 17 but other than that Jacob bowled three quality overs," Walter said.

"Five-wicket bags don’t come around in T20 cricket very often, so on a personal note he continues to take wickets and the season has been really fruitful so far for him."

While most of your other bowlers got flogged, Warren Barnes (one for 30) was relatively frugal given the context of the game.

He was rewarded with the wicket of Andrew Ellis. The rest of the bowling figures were a bit sad — but not as sad as your batting.

It was not much of a match, really. Otago was all out for 83 in the 12th over.

We appreciated the extra time at the end of the game to celebrate with Benny Boy. But we also felt you might have put up more of a fight. It was your equal-lowest score.

Rob Nicol top-scored with 26. Anaru Kitchen and Derek de Boorder got into double figures but no-one else managed more than eight.

"When you are chasing a score of that size it can be a blowout or you get real close. There is no in-between," Walter said.

"We lost some wickets early and that put us on the back foot. When you start off needing 11 and it gets to 12 and a-half after five overs, you are under the pump."

Stokes grabbed one wicket but leg-spinner Todd Astle tore through the lower order with three for 18 and Black Caps seamer Matt Henry bowled well for two for 20.

We eagerly await the outcome of the investigation into Stokes’ alleged involvement in a incident near a Bristol nightclub so he can get back to playing for England.

Once again thank you very much for your support.

Kind regards, The Barmy Army.

Dear Barmy Army, Thanks for the note. There is a good chance it won’t end up on the wall, though.

Yours sincerely, Otago Volts.

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