Joe Root heaps praise on "golden nugget" Ben Stokes following victory at Newlands

Stokes claimed the final three South African wickets to fall as the tourists levelled the series at 1-1 with a 189-run win at Newlands, adding to his five first-innings catches and explosive second-innings half-century with the bat

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Joe Root hailed "golden nugget" Ben Stokes after the allrounder once again helped England to dramatic Test victory in Cape Town.

Stokes claimed the final three South African wickets to fall as the tourists levelled the series at 1-1 with a 189-run win at Newlands, adding to his five first-innings catches and explosive second-innings half-century with the bat.

It means Stokes has begun 2020 in much the same vein as he played throughout 2019, when he took England to World Cup glory and delivered one of the most astonishing Test moments of the decade at Headingley with his unbeaten 135 against Australia.

For captain Root, his deputy has been a treasure.

"He's a golden nugget, isn't he?" Root said in the aftermath of the match on Tuesday.

"He is just a fantastic specimen. You put him in a lot of different situations and he just stands up to it.

^{Ben Stokes was integral to England's win in Cape Town}

"He's a born match-winner who will always put the team first and give everything for the group of players he is playing alongside. He's a fantastic example to a young squad of players.”

"He's someone that never backs down from a challenge.

"You look at all the special things he has done in the past year. "He's a great example to a young group of players."

Stokes was named man of the match for his efforts, but insisted that the award ought to have been handed to opener Dom Sibley, whose 133 not out laid the foundations for England success.

"We were sitting next to each other in the dressing room and I walked in, gave it to him, and he put it in my place. I went ‘no’, and put it in his bag. I walked back in and it was back in my bag," he said.

"I said: ‘You’ve shafted me once by making me do the interviews, if it ends up back in my spot we are never sitting next to each other again’. He has got it now!"

England will be looking to make the most of their new-found momentum when they head to Port Elizabeth for the third game of the four-match series, which is due to begin on January 16.

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