Ben Stokes cemented his legacy in the history books as his brilliant show in the final against New Zealand guided England to their maiden ICC World Cup title. The all-rounder scored an unbeaten 84 off 98 balls to tie the match for the hosts and then scored 8 runs in the super over that was ultimately won by England by virtue of hitting more boundaries. Since the win, there have been talks of awarding knighthood to Stokes because of his man-of-the-match performance and both the UK prime ministerial candidates seem to agree with the general consensus.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, who are in the race of replace Theresa May as the Prime Minister of Britain, both believes that Stokes should be knighted with Johnson adding that he would make Stokes a Duke.

“I will give dukedoms, whatever - I will go to the maximum, to, what, the Garter King of Arms. Yes is the answer, absolutely,” Boris Johnson said as he answered a rapid-fire series of ‘yes or no’ questions at the end of the leadership debate, hosted by The Sun and talkRADIO.

Earlier, Johnson took to Twitter to congratulate England on winning the World Cup title for the first time in their history. “An incredible day of sport! @LewisHamilton wins the British Grand Prix, @EnglandCricket win the #CWC19Final - and well done @DjokerNole at Wimbledon! I still treasure the tennis racket you gave me after our last match 👍🏻,” he tweeted from his official handle.

An incredible day of sport! @LewisHamilton wins the British Grand Prix, @EnglandCricket win the #CWC19Final - and well done @DjokerNole at Wimbledon! I still treasure the tennis racket you gave me after our last match 👍🏻

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 14, 2019

Hunt also echoed similar sentiments and when he was asked about the knighthood, he said, “Of course”.

Won’t make any trite comparisons about other contests where the seemingly impossible really can happen...but so proud to see the England cricket team lift the World Cup trophy for the first time on home soil! #cwc2019 #britishgp #winners

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) July 14, 2019

“Won’t make any trite comparisons about other contests where the seemingly impossible really can happen...but so proud to see the England cricket team lift the World Cup trophy for the first time on home soil! #cwc2019 #britishgp #winners,” Hunt tweeted.

First Published: Jul 16, 2019 16:39 IST