"No way, no, no way, you cannot do that, Ben Stokes. That is remarkable, that is one of the greatest catches of all time. You cannot do that!"
Monday 30 December 2019 07:10, UK
After a year in which England won the World Cup by "the barest of all margins", we look at some of 2019's best cricketing quotes...
NASSER HUSSAIN calls the moment Ben Stokes scored the winning runs in the third Ashes Test at Headingley...
"Cut away. Cut away for four. What an innings. What a player. Take a bow, Ben Stokes. The Ashes are well and truly alive because of one cricketer."
The late BOB WILLIS said that Stokes' heroics in Leeds eclipsed those at the same ground in 1981...
"Quite how Ben had the strength to play an innings like that after his World Cup heroics and subsequent Tests was something else. Naturally, his unbeaten 135 will be compared to Ian Botham's 149 at Headingley 38 years ago - and let me tell you that Ben's is the better knock."
NASSER could not believe what he witnessed after Stokes' stunning, one-handed catch to remove Andile Phehlukwayo in the World Cup opener against South Africa...
"No way, no, no way, you cannot do that, Ben Stokes. That is remarkable, that is one of the greatest catches of all time. You cannot do that!"
IAN SMITH commentates as England beat New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup final...
"Two to win. Guptill's got to push for two. They've got to go. It's got... the throw's got to go to the keeper's end... He's got it! England have won the World Cup! By the barest of margins! By the barest of all margins!"
BEN STOKES says the World Cup final is unlikely to ever be topped...
"I don't think there will be a better game in cricket history."
AMBATI RAYUDU took to Twitter after being left out of India's World Cup squad because of the fact he was not deemed a 3D cricketer...
"Just ordered a new set of 3D glasses to watch the World Cup."
MITCHELL MARSH explains how he had been getting into shape prior to his Ashes recall...
"My body likes to put on weight easily and my mum loves to feed me, so I haven't had as many roasts at home the last six months."
JOFRA ARCHER had this response when Australia coach Justin Langer questioned whether he had the stamina for Test cricket...
"I'm probably more ready than I've ever been. I've bowled 50 overs in one game already [for Sussex] and I'm usually the one bowling the most overs anyway. I think Justin Langer has another thing coming."
MARK WOOD wonders why he had his full kit on as he walked to the wicket during the Cricket World Cup final...
"All I had to do was run. I had my chest guard on, my arm guard on. I didn't need any of that. All I needed was my pads, helmet, gloves and bat. Why did I wear everything? It slowed us down! I had all my friends in Ashington texting me after the match that the Titanic turns quicker!"
JOE ROOT knows he faces a battle to make England's T20 World Cup squad - but won't go down without a fight...
"For me to get into the T20 side, it will mean that I have to keep getting better. That's the food chain that cricket is sometimes. You have to be at the top of it otherwise you get swept away and eaten up."
EOIN MORGAN after England's multicultural side won the World Cup...
"I spoke to Adil [Rashid] and he said, 'Allah was definitely with us'. I said we had the run of the green. Our team is one with quite diverse backgrounds, cultures and people growing up in different countries. It epitomises us."
New Zealand captain KANE WILLIAMSON gives a matter-of-fact response to sunlight stopping play in an ODI against India in Napier...
"It's hard to move the sun and hard to move the grandstand. We didn't have either of those options so we had to sit down for a bit."
