‘Ben Foakes is the best wicket-keeper in the world,' says Ben Stokes

The newly appointed England red-ball captain Ben Stokes has heaped praise on the team’s wicket-keeper Ben Foakes, after his impressive performance in England’s victory against New Zealand at Lord’s. 

In the first innings, Foakes could contribute only 7. However, he arrived at a critical point in the second innings, wherein the team still needed 118 runs, and Joe Root needed support at the other end. 

He finished unbeaten on 32 off 92, comprising three fours and played second fiddle to Root (115*), resulting in the team securing a victory by five wickets. 

Apart from his resolute defense with the bat, he justified his selection as the first-choice wicket-keeper for the English team. The superb diving catch to dismiss Kiwi captain Kane Williamson was a highlight of his strong showing behind the wickets. 

Post-match, Stokes reckoned that Foakes is the best wicket-keeper in the world and termed it a unanimous opinion. 

"Ben is the best wicket-keeper in the world. That's not just my own opinion, that's a lot of people's opinions. And we're not in a position to not select world-class players at the moment," the English all-rounder said. 

Batting at No.7, which he does for England, is different to the role that he plays for Surrey because he bats higher up the order then.

The English skipper felt that Foakes handled the pressure well and needed to be given credit for this win. 

"But that situation, going in last night with about an hour left, was a very, very big part of the game, and he handled it very, very well. Joe walks off with all the plaudits, but Foakesy has to take a lot of credit for the way he handled that pressure. 

Him walking off there not out with Joe at the end no doubt will give him a lot of confidence going into the rest of the summer. And the way that he kept, he took some catches which he made look very easy but they weren't," the 31-year-old added.

Stokes felt that the presence of the 29-year-old wicket-keeper behind the stumps also provides confidence to the bowlers. 

"To have a gloveman like Ben behind the stumps gives me a lot of confidence, and it gives the bowlers a lot of confidence. Ben's only going to get better with the more confidence that he gets, and he's the best keeper in the world, so it's great to have him behind the stumps," Stokes concluded. 

Making his Test Debut in 2018 against Sri Lanka, Foakes has amassed 545 runs at an average of 28.68, with a solitary century. 

With Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler as his competitors, Foakes is fast approaching to cement his place on the Test side due to his better wicket-keeping skills than the other two.