England recorded a memorable win in fading light and barely 10 minutes from the end of the game to reward Stokes’ bold statement on Sunday.
Chasing 343 for an improbable victory, a stubborn Pakistan nearly took a draw, but pace bowlers James Anderson and Ollie Robinson produced a reverse swing masterclass to deny them.
“It’s a great place to be, and I think it’s up there with one of England’s greatest wins in an away game,” Stokes said at the awards ceremony.
“Jimmy Anderson said he was very emotional trying to keep himself together.
“If a guy who’s played almost 180 Test matches feels that way at the end of this, I think we’ve accomplished something really special this week.”
Since former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum took over the reins of coaching, England have been playing a highly entertaining brand of test cricket.
“We wanted to come here in Pakistan and continue our mantra of exciting cricket to give ourselves the best chance of winning a Test match,” said Stokes.
“I’m not interested in playing for the draw..we always try to look at the positive option.”
Stokes was notable for his inspirational leadership in the match – especially his astute handling of his bowlers and attacking field setting.
“On wickets like this you have to make things happen – score your runs quickly and then make some pretty hasty and bold decisions with the pitching and bowling changes and things like that,” he said.
“I think we’ve played eight-nine exhibition games now, and one thing we’re trying to do is focus on ourselves rather than the opponent.”
“We have some broken bodies after that. It’s amazing to see how much enthusiasm and heart the guys showed,” he added.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a group of players put their bodies on the line like that.”