Revealed: The Inspirational Story Behind Ben Stokes' Folded Finger Gesture

Updated - 18 Jul 2020, 04:29 PM

Ben Stokes (Credits: Twitter)

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Ben Stoke, on Friday, further enhanced his reputation of being one of the best cricketers in the world by scoring a sublime century in the ongoing second Test against West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester. The left-handed batsman scored 176 as England posted an imposing first-innings total of 469 for 9 before declaring.

He shared a 260-run stand with opener Dom Sibley who scored 120 as the duo revived England’s innings after the hosts were reduced to 81 for 3 on day of the game. In reply, West Indies, faced with a tricky hour to bat until stumps on the second day, lost John Campbell to Sam Curran and were 32-1 at the close.

Ben Stokes reached his century off 255 as he registered his slowest Test ton. His impressive knock was eventually ended by pacer Kemar Roach after the England superstar attempted an ambitious reverse sweep and was caught behind.

Reason behind the gesture:

Ben Stokes celebrated his century with an interesting gesture. After hitting Roston Chase for a four to cross the triple-digit mark, the allrounder took his helmet off and kept it on the ground along with the bat. He then took off his left glove and came up with an unique hand gesture in which he had his middle-finger folded.

Best cricketer in the world ?

Scorecard/Videos: https://t.co/uLg0r9IjHB #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/eGoWNbGnGu

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 17, 2020

Well, the gesture is Ben Stokes’ way of giving a tribute to his father Ged. Stokes senior, who was a rugby player, had to chop off part of his middle finger so he could continue playing rugby league as he couldn’t afford to stop for an operation.

It was not the first time Ben Stokes had come up with that gesture. He was seen doing the same earlier this year in South Africa where his father had to hospitalised after falling seriously ill.