Ben Stokes has been nominated for the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, after a remarkable year that was capped by his man-of-the-match-winning performance in England's World Cup final victory over New Zealand.

Stokes, who is currently in New Zealand with the England Test team, also produced one of the greatest Test innings of all time against Australia at Headingley in August, scoring 135 not out to secure a thrilling one-wicket win.

The musician Ed Sheeran revealed the nomination via a video on Twitter, having attended several England matches in the course of the summer.

"Hey Ben Stokes, you are a Sports Personality of the Year nominee, congratulations," said Sheeran. "I think you should win because you are a World Cup winner and you had one of the most amazing performances in the World Cup final, and just one month later you scored 135 not out to level England in the Ashes, and you were also England's top scorer with 441."

The first nominee for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2019 is…

@BenStokes38

We'll let his biggest fan @edsheeran tell you more…#SPOTY pic.twitter.com/0qb8ehsLNi

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 25, 2019

Stokes was the first of six nominees to be unveiled, for an award that dates back to 1954, and which has been won on five previous occasions by a cricketer.

Andrew Flintoff is the most recent cricketer to win the award, following his Ashes-inning heroics in 2005. Jim Laker (1956), David Steele (1975) and Ian Botham (1981) are the other cricketers to have won the public vote that honours the outstanding British sportsman of the year.

Stokes has been installed as the bookmaker's favourite for the live event that takes place in Aberdeen on December 15.