Stokes opens up on final-over 'devastation'

England's Ben Stokes has revealed the "complete devastation" he felt after being hammered for four consecutive sixes by West Indian Carlos Brathwaite in a dramatic final over of the ICC World T20 decider.

With the Windies requiring 19 from six balls to win the final, England looked to have the match all but sewn up, however Brathwaite's stunning intervention turned the tide, allowing the West Indies snatch a remarkable win with two balls to spare.

"I thought, 'I've just lost the World Cup'," Stokes told The Telegraph in London. "I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what to do.

"It took me so long to get back on my feet. I didn't want to get back up. It was like the whole world had come down on me. There weren't any good things going through my mind. It was just complete devastation."

England paceman Stuart Broad is among a host of big names in the sport who have since supported the allrounder, with Broad suggesting the final-over disaster will be the making of Stokes.

Ironically, Stokes had been the star with the ball in the closing overs of England's semi-final against New Zealand, taking three wickets and conceding just eight runs from the 18th and 20th over of the innings.

"It is probably only now really that all the emotions have started to come out about it," he continued. "I couldn't reflect on it at the time. There was just shock.

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"But I said to 'Morgy' (Eoin Morgan) afterwards that I was more nervous bowling the last over of the semi-final than I was the final.

"Maybe it was from confidence of doing it plenty of times before. That was how I felt before the over. After the over I was devastated and you could see that from the pictures.

"The team and management are very quick to be very supportive of you in those situations. But they couldn't really say anything to make me feel much better. They gave me a hug and said 'It's all right mate'. There wasn't really much more they could say at the time.

"Disappointment is the biggest emotion now."

Stokes, still only 24, has already ridden considerable highs and lows throughout his brief international career; he's tasted both sides of the Ashes ledger, been dropped from the ODI team after a horror run of form, subsequently missing the 2015 World Cup, before celebrating the new year with the fastest 250 in Test history – a scarcely believable 258 from 198 deliveries.

The World T20 final is another down on the rollercoaster ride for the New Zealand-born Englishman, however he insists that despite an immediate 'what if?' or two, he wouldn't have changed his game plan in that final over.

"I have wondered if it would have been different if I had gone four slower balls into the deck but they could have been hit for four sixes and then I would have thought why didn't I go for four yorkers?" he added.

"I know that I can run up and hit my yorkers nine out of 10 times so I am not going to look back and wish I had changed anything."