Ben Stokes – The Most Explosive All-Rounder

Ben Stokes, an England cricketer is one of the most renowned all-rounders of the modern era, who is an explosive batsman as well as a bowler. Stokes is a passionate cricketer, who gives it his all in whatever he does be it bowling or batting and even fielding. He is known for his aggression both on and off the field, which means that there will be no dull moment when he is around. Stokes can bowl crucial explosive spells to provide his team with the breakthrough when nothing seems to be working. He is an attacking batsman who can hit all around the ground and is capable of playing the big innings for his team.

Early Life of Sir Ben Stokes

Rugby league player and coach Gerard Stokes is the father of Ben Stokes . He has Maori ancestry, and at the age of 12 when his father was elected as the head coach of the Workington Town rugby league club, Stokes moved to England. He grew up in the small town of West Cumbrian and attended Cockermouth School and played Cricket for the Cockermouth Cricket Club. Ben Stokes's age was merely 15 when his team won the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket League Premier Division title in the year 2006. In 2013, his parents moved to New Zealand to live with Ben's brother in Christchurch.

Stoke's Domestic Career at Glance

In 2009, Ben Stokes made his one-day debut for Durham and picked the wicket of Mark Ramprakash, one of the most experienced batsmen, with his third ball in professional cricket. During the Bangladesh U-19 series, Stokes played two matches, where he scored a half-century and took crucial wickets for his team. Ben also played 2010 Under-19 World Cup, where he scored a century in the match against India U-19 team.

Ben Stokes made his first-class debut for Durham in 2010 against Marylebone Cricket Club at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. He scored a half-century and bagged one wicket in his debut match. Ben Stokes made his Championship debut for Durham in the 2010 County Cricket Season against Essex.  He made his maiden first-class century at Trent Bridge against Nottinghamshire. Due to the absence of players from the team because of injury, Ben got more chances to play. He was given an opportunity in the England Performance Programme and travelled to Australia during the 2010-11 Ashes because of his terrific debut in first-class cricket.

Durham won the 2013 County Championship and Stokes was the key player who led his team to win the title. In the finals of Royal London One-Day Cup in 2014, Ben Stokes won the Man-of-the-Match award for scoring 38 runs and taking two wickets against Warwickshire. He played exceptionally well for his team Melbourne Renegades in the 2015 Big Bash League by replacing the injured Jesse Ryder.

Ben Stokes’ International Career at a Glance

2011-2012

Stokes' England career started in 2011 after his debut in the One Day International against Ireland.  In his debut match, Stokes scored only three runs before being bowled by Paul Stirling and did not get a chance to bowl in that match; however, Stokes took a brilliant catch.

Stokes continued playing limited over games in the 2011 ODI series against Indian team, where he did not get a chance to bat and bowl in the first two games. In the third ODI, Stokes hit 20 runs and contributed in the victory of his team. However, in the fourth ODI, he scored only seven runs, and the match ended in a tie because of the Duckworth Lewis method.

Stokes was selected for the England Twenty20 International team against the West Indies. He played his debut T20 match in this series and in the second T20I, Stokes scored 31 runs after coming one down. During the New Zealand T20 series, Stokes sustained an injury and played two games only as a batsman. In the first T20, he scored nine runs and did not get a chance to bat in the second match.

Ben Stokes's England cricket career in 2012 came to a halt because of injuries, disciplinary issues and lack of form. After violating the team curfew in 2012, he was sent home from the tour of England Lions.

2013-14

Ben Stokes was selected in the England squad for the 2013–14 Ashes series against Australia. Stokes made his Test debut in the 2nd Test and became the 658th English player to play Tests at the international level. In his debut Test match, Stokes scored one and 28 runs in the first and second innings respectively and dismissed some strong players like Michael Clarke and Peter Siddle. He got the chance to play the 3rd Test also, where he made 18 runs and took the wicket of Brad Haddin in the first innings. He scored his maiden Test century in the second innings by scoring 120 runs off 195 balls and took the wickets of Steve Smith and Michael Clark.

Stokes made 14 and 19 runs respectively in the first and second innings of the 4th Test and got Shane Watson and David Warner's wicket. He took his career-best 6-wickets haul for 99 runs in the first innings of the 5th Test and scored 32 runs in the second innings. Although England lost the series 0-5, Stokes had a great series as he became third-highest run-scorer by scoring 279 runs and second-highest wicket-taker by taking 15 wickets.
In the ODI series against Australia, Ben Stokes scored 21 runs, 0, 15, 70 runs and 0 in the five matches. He was good with the ball as he took the wicket of Aaron Finch in the first ODI and Nathan Coulter-Nile in the second match. In the third ODI, he took out David Warner and returned with England's best bowling figure of 4 for 39 in the fourth ODI. After taking three wickets in the final ODI, Stokes took a total of ten wickets in that series.

Stokes was also selected for the ODI series against West Indies, where he made five runs, four runs and duck in all three games and took two wickets in the series. Ben Stokes also played two T20 internationals against West Indies, where he couldn’t make an impact with either bat or ball. Stokes suffered an injury after punching the locker, and because of that, was ruled out of the T20 World Cup.

After recovering from the injury, he returned to the Test squad for the India series. In the first Test, he took two wickets and was out for a duck in the first innings and failed to pick even a single wicket in the second innings. His poor form with the bat continued in the second Test too, but he picked two and three wickets respectively in the first and second innings. He was dropped from the remaining three Test matches against India but got selected in the ODI squad. He made just 23 runs and 2 runs in the first two ODIs and was consequently dropped from the team. However, he came back for the final ODI and took three wickets while scoring an impressive 33, leading England to their first win of the ODI series. Stokes was selected for the Sri Lanka ODI series but had a disappointing series both with the ball as well as bat.

2015-16

Ben Stokes was recalled for the West Indies series after missing the World Cup. In the first Test, he made 79 runs and 35 runs in the first and second innings. However, he failed to take a wicket in both the innings and took his first wicket in the second match. In the final Test, he took one wicket each on both the innings, and although the series ended in a 1-1 draw, Stokes couldn’t contribute much in either match.

In the Test series against New Zealand, he scored 92 runs in the first innings and followed it up with a century off 85 balls in the second innings. Stokes became the second English player to score a century and take three wickets in a test. For his outstanding performance in the first Test, Stokes was awarded the Man-of-the-Match; however, in the second Test, he wasn’t as productive for his team.

Stokes was also in the squad for the ODI series against New Zealand, and managed to score just ten runs and remained wicketless in the first ODI. In the second ODI, he scored 68 runs and took two wickets in the next two ODIs. However, in the final match, Stokes took three wickets which resulted in England winning the series 3-2. He helped his team win the only T20 match between England and New Zealand by scoring an unbeaten 24 runs and picking two crucial wickets.

Stokes’ cricket career is full of achievements in the Ashes and he was good with the bat and ball in the 2015 Ashes too. In the first Test, Stokes scored 52 and 42 runs in both innings; whereas, in the second Ashes Test, he scored 87 runs for his team but went wicketless. The third Test was not good for him, but in the next Test, he took a six-wicket haul and followed it up with three wickets in the final Test. Stokes played all five ODIs against Australian team, but his bowling performance was not up to the mark. He took three wickets in the second ODI but did not pick any wickets in the rest of the matches.

Ben Stokes was selected in the Test squad against Pakistan, where he scored 57 runs and took four wickets in the first innings. Stokes was ineffective in the second Test with bat and ball and batted at number 11 in the third and final Test due to a shoulder injury. He returned for the South Africa tour, where he got the chance to play in the second Test and scored his career-best score of 258 runs. This was the second-fastest double century which included 30 fours and 11 sixes. Stokes took two five-wicket hauls in the next two Tests and took four wickets for 86 runs in the final Test.

The ODI series against South Africa was good for Stokes in the bowling department, where he picked two wickets in the second and fourth ODI. He was unsuccessful in the two T20 matches against South Africa with both the bat as well as the ball. Ben Stokes’ performances against New Zealand are full of ups and downs; however, in the 2016 T20 World Cup, he took his best figures of the tournament against the Black Caps.

After playing the first Test against Sri Lanka, Stokes suffered an injury and was ruled out of the series. He played in the second Test against Pakistan after returning from the injury and scored 34 runs. But while bowling in the second innings, Ben Stokes got injured and was ruled out from the series. He then made a comeback in the first ODI match, where he scored 15 runs and followed it up by 42 in the second ODI. Stokes got his form back in the fourth and fifth ODI where he scored 69 and 75 respectively.

In the first ODI against Bangladesh, Ben Stokes scored 101 runs and helped his team win the game. Then in the final ODI, he made an unbeaten 47 runs and picked one wicket and led his team to victory. In the first Test match against Bangladesh, Stokes took four wickets in the first innings and then two wickets in the next innings. He was awarded the Man-of-the-Match because he picked wickets as well as scored 85 runs in the second innings. The second Test was good for Stokes with the ball as he took two and three wickets respectively in the two innings.

In the Test series against India, he made 128 runs in the first innings of the first Test and took one wicket. He scored 70 runs and six runs in both the innings of the second Test, whereas in the third Test, Stokes took a five-wicket haul. In the fourth and final Test, he failed to make an impression, both as a batsman and bowler. In the ODI matches, Ben Stokes was impressive as he scored 62 runs and picked two wickets in the first ODI. In the second ODI, Stokes was ineffective, but in the next match his performance improved and he scored 57 runs and took three wickets, leading his team to victory.

2017 – 2018

Ben Stokes scored his second and third ODI century in the Champions Trophy against South Africa and Australia respectively. In the four-match Test series against South Africa, Stokes scored 299 runs and picked seven wickets. He was in the England Test squad for the West Indies series in which he picked nine wickets and scored 228 runs. Stokes scored his fourth Test century in the second Test whereas in the next match he picked his career-best figures of 6/22 runs with the ball.

2019-2020

Ben Stokes was selected in England's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, where he scored 89 runs and picked two wickets. Stokes even took two catches in the same match and was declared as the Man-of-the-Match. His catch of Andile Phehlukwayo is described as one of the greatest catches in cricket history. Ben Stokes’ cricketing skills got better in the latter stage of the tournament where he scored 82 runs against Sri Lanka and 89 runs against Australia. Stokes scored a crucial 79 runs in 54 balls against India and led his team to victory by 31 runs. In the final of 2019 Cricket World Cup, Ben Stokes scored 84 not out that included two sixes in the final over of the match. Then in the super over which was again a tie, he batted alongside Jos Buttler and England won the 2019 World Cup Final on the boundary countback rule. For his performance in the final, Sir Ben Stokes was declared Man-of-the Match, and for his overall performance in the tournament, ICC named him in the "Team of the Tournament" for the 2019 World Cup.

Ben Stokes played a pivotal role in the 2019 Ashes series and led his team to tie the series 2-2. In the third Test, he scored an unbeaten 135 runs, which were described as 'one of the greatest innings played by an Englishman ever.' For scoring 441 runs that included two centuries and two fifties while picking eight wickets, Stokes was declared as the Player of the series. He continued his excellent form with the bat in the New Zealand tour also, where he scored 91 and 28 in the first Test. Stokes's cricket performance in 2019 led him to win the 2019 ICC Player of the Year and 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

In the four-match Test tour of South Africa, Stokes scored 318 runs while taking ten wickets which resulted in him winning the Player of the Series award. In the second Test against South Africa, he scored 47 and 72 and managed to pick three wickets. In the next match, Ben Stokes scored crucial 120 runs and paved a path for his team’s victory. However, in the final Test, he was not good with the bat but took four wickets and contributed to England’s win. In June 2020, Stokes was included in England’s 30-man squad, who were to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against West Indies. Stokes was named as the captain of the England team in the warm-up match in the absence of Joe Root, the regular captain. He took his 150th wicket in the first Test and became the sixth cricketer to score 4,000 runs and pick 150 wickets in Test match cricket. He scored his tenth century in Test cricket in the second Test when he scored 176 runs at Manchester.

Ben Stokes’ Stats

BATTING CAREER SUMMARY

BOWLING CAREER SUMMARY

Ben Stokes’ IPL Career

In the 2017 IPL player auction, Ben Stokes was purchased by Rising Pune Supergiants and made his IPL debut against Mumbai Indians in April 2017. He scored his maiden IPL century against the Gujarat Lions in the 2017 IPL and was declared Man-of-the-Match for a total of three times in 14 matches. Ben Stokes’ IPL team changed from Rising Pune Supergiant to Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 IPL players' auction. He scored 196 runs and took eight wickets for his team in the 2018 IPL. His 2019 season wasn’t as fruitful as he made 123 runs while taking six wickets in the nine matches that he played.

Personal Life

 Clare Ratcliffe is Ben Stokes's wife, whom he married in October 2017. They are blessed with two kids.

Stokes got arrested in September 2017 because of his involvement in a street brawl. He missed the 2017-18 Ashes Test series due to this incident while missing out on more matches because of the subsequent trial. Stokes was acquitted in August 2018, but ECB banned him for eight games after Stokes was charged for bringing the game of cricket into disrepute.