BEN Stokes clobbered the highest score by an England batter in a one-day international in a 181-run trouncing of New Zealand at The Kia Oval.
Stokes’ brutal 182 beat the previous England best of 180, made by Jason Roy against Australia in Melbourne in 2018.
In only his third ODI since coming out of retirement to play in this year’s World Cup, Stokes hammered some wayward New Zealand bowling for nine sixes and 15 fours in his 124-ball stay.
Arriving at 13-2, Stokes added 199 for the third wicket with Dawid Malan, an England record partnership in an ODI against the Black Caps. Malan’s 96 did plenty to cement his place in the starting XI for the World Cup in India.
Despite losing their last six wickets for 32 runs, England piled up 368. Given the carnage caused by Stokes, Trent Boult’s figures of 5-51 were extraordinary.
Faced with pulling off the highest successful chase in an ODI in England, New Zealand were soon in disarray at 37-4, thanks chiefly to a three-wicket burst from Chris Woakes, who expertly used the movement on offer in an eight-over opening spell.
Glenn Phillips battled to 72 to prolong the match, but after he was lbw on review to Liam Livingstone, New Zealand were hustled out for 187.
England take a 2-1 lead in the series, which they can win with victory in the fourth and final match at Lord’s on Friday.
Even with a troublesome left knee that will restrict his World Cup involvement to batting only, it is Stokes’ ability to play innings like these that made England so keen to have the Test captain as part of their title defence in India.
Not only can he deliver in clutch moments such as the 2019 final or the 2022 T20 World Cup final, few can match Stokes for savage ball-striking when he finds the range he did on an overcast day at The Oval.
England were in trouble after Jonny Bairstow fell to the first ball of the match and Joe Root dragged on, both off Boult, only for Stokes to respond in record-breaking fashion.
It was actually Malan who was the catalyst for England’s recovery, the opener timing the ball sweetly square on both sides as Stokes struggled for fluency.
Often hacking at the ball, Stokes did not score a run off the first six deliveries he faced and had only 12 from his first 18. It was the introduction of left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra that jolted Stokes into life. Three sixes were hoisted over deep mid-wicket, Ravindra went for 28 from his only two overs and Stokes never looked back.

Scoring almost exclusively through the leg side, Stokes brought up his fourth ODI hundred and first since 2017 from 76 balls, his quickest in this format. Though he lost Malan, caught down the leg side on review off Boult, Stokes added 78 in 46 deliveries with captain Jos Buttler.
Stokes walloped off-spinner Phillips over cow corner to bring up his 150 and hit the same bowler into the second tier of the pavilion with a monstrous straight blow.
The left-hander brought up the record with his final maximum, hitting a full toss from the pace of Ben Lister over long-on. The Oval crowd did not appreciate the significance of the moment immediately, but responded with rapturous applause when Stokes’ achievement was announced on the big screen.
With more than five overs of the innings remaining, Stokes had time to become the first England batter to reach 200 in an ODI.
However, two balls after bettering Roy’s mark, he miscued another Lister full toss and was caught at deep square leg by Will Young.
After Robin Smith held the England ODI record for 23 years with 167 made in 1993, it has now been broken three times since 2016, first by Alex Hales, then Roy, now Stokes.
The highest score by a batter in an ODI is the 264 made by India’s Rohit Sharma against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014.
Former captain Charlotte Edwards holds the record for the highest score by an England woman in an ODI for her 173 not out against Ireland in 1997.(BBC Sport)