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England cricket is having a summer to remember. Following its dramatic World Cup victory over New Zealand in July, the Test match side overcame Australia in the third Ashes test at Headingley on Sunday. All-rounder and hero Ben Stokes, who finished the innings unbeaten on 135 runs and who single-handedly earned England the victory by one wicket, told the Mirror that he and teammates celebrated with a McDonald’s drive thru. £55 worth of burgers, to be precise.
“Me, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Rory Burns and Joe Root all jumped in an Uber and got £55 worth of McDonald’s drive thru on the way,” he said.
“There were quarter pounders and filet ‘o’ fish flying everywhere!”
Stokes is not the first elite athlete in history to declare a predilection for, ahem, fast food. The fastest man ever to walk the earth, Usain Bolt, famously used to carb-load on McDonald’s chicken nuggets before his 100 and 200 metre sprints. He reportedly consumed 100 nuggets a day — for ten days — during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
McDonald’s is not, it would seem, Stokes’ only vice. He revealed that his preparation on the eve of the decisive innings involved pasta, a “knock-off Nandos”, and two Yorkie chocolate bars. According to AOL, Stokes said: “My wife and kids came down and they got there at around 10 o’clock. My wife walked into me eating pasta in my boxer shorts!
”Last night, I think had a knock-off Nandos and two bars of Yorkie biscuit and raisin. And a couple of coffees in the morning.”
With the Ashes now poised at one-a-piece and with all to play for with two tests remaining, there’s plenty of scope for Stokes and co. to celebrate again. Stay tuned for the if, when, and how.
