The news that Ben Stokes has not touched alcohol since January 2 was both reassuring and a sign of the times.
England’s Test captain – 34 in June – is determined not to hasten his retirement by punishing his body off the field as well as on it, and not every all-rounder in the past has shared that resolve. Then again, Stokes the man is in danger of ousting Stokes the cricketer, both on the page and in the imagination.
Consider the narratives since the helter-skelter 2023 Ashes, and they have often been about anything but runs and wickets: the ODI un-retirement in time for that year’s World Cup; last summer’s hamstring tear in the Hundred; his grumpiness in Pakistan, for which he apologised; the burglary, around the same time, at his home in Castle Eden while his family were in bed; the hamstring tear in Hamilton; the subsequent social media pledge to ‘f*** some s*** up’; the recent speculation about the white-ball captaincy; the repeated claims that he is fitter than ever; and now the recasting of his relationship with booze.
Stokes’s news value, of course, changed forever that night in Bristol in 2017. There ensued a soap opera of court cases, one crazy summer (2019), family bereavement, depression and rehab.
He was interviewed in a film by Sam Mendes, achieving cut-through – rare for an England cricketer – even while his glazed expression told viewers his mind was elsewhere. He had transcended cricket, but at what cost?
Briefly, the cricket reclaimed centre stage. Stokes joined forces with Brendon McCullum, Bazball was born, and England became the most compelling team in the world. No one to have captained them in more than 15 Tests has a better win percentage than Stokes’s 59, and they have scored at 4.5 an over.
The story will resume against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge on Thursday, and reach a career-defining apogee later in the year against India and Australia. There are some critics of Bazball who are desperate to say: ‘We told you so.’
But, for now, it has become fashionable to forget that Stokes is the Test team’s all-rounder, the man who – when he is fit to bowl – balances the side and allows the ongoing indulgence of Shoaib Bashir’s off-breaks. When Mail Sport’s Nasser Hussain put it to Stokes during a recent interview in Mumbai that England were always a better team with him in it, Stokes nodded, almost imperceptibly.
And it is still true: his presence brings immeasurable benefit to the side, which is why – despite everything else on Stokes’s plate – Rob Key seriously considered handing him the ODI captaincy following the resignation of Jos Buttler. Key’s logic, derided by many, was that the 50-over side needed to start winning again, and Stokes was the man to help them do it.
Yet his recent Test numbers have not been good: since the 2023 Ashes, Stokes has averaged 28 with the bat and nearly 37 with the ball. Without a cheap and cheeky three-for to knock over New Zealand’s lower order and clinch the series at Wellington in December, his bowling average would climb to 47.
But while his sporadic contributions with the ball reflect his fitness battles, his batting is of more concern, especially in a lineup where Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope are averaging just 30 and 34, and where the pressure on Joe Root and Harry Brook at times feels intolerable. If Jasprit Bumrah still has the new ball when those two arrive at the crease, India will be in business.
And when Stokes has batted at No 6, his first-choice slot, that average drops to 20. Admittedly, all but three of his 16 innings in that time came on turning pitches in India and Pakistan, where he was not alone in his struggles. England don’t play another Test in Asia for two years, so that weakness can temporarily be glossed over.
But this column has argued before that Stokes, as he heads into the twilight of his career, might be better used at No 7, where six innings since the 2023 Ashes have brought him an average of 44, including his best knock of the last two years – a four-hour 80 to help set up victory at Christchurch over the winter.
It used to be said that he possessed the second-surest defence in the England team, behind Root. And his magnum opus at Headingley six summers ago was famously built on sturdy foundations: just three runs came from his first 73 balls, precisely because he could trust his technique. Without the self-denial, we might not have enjoyed the match-winning abandon.
But it is becoming hard to argue that Stokes is a bona fide Test No 6, and even harder when he’s contributing relatively little with the ball. And for all the talk of unprecedented levels of fitness, Stokes has also admitted he’ll have to work his way back to genuine all-rounder status during Test matches themselves. There are no guarantees the hamstring won’t twang again between now and Perth on November 21.
A move to No 7 need not be seen as a climbdown. He could reposition himself as a flogger of tired attacks – or of the second new ball – in the mould of Ian Botham or Adam Gilchrist. And the psychology would be different, easing the pressure to bat like a specialist. It could free him up for whatever remains of his Test career, while Jamie Smith might enjoy the view from No 6.
Above all, Stokes needs to find a way to get people talking about his batting and bowling again. If he succeeds, English cricket could be in for one hell of a year.
Shah has no excuse for social media error
ICC chair Jay Shah last week deleted an Instagram post in which he expressed his support for India’s armed forces during the Kashmir-related skirmish with Pakistan.
He was right to delete it, but why did he think it OK to post it in the first place?
As Australian opener Usman Khawaja discovered when he was forbidden from depicting a dove on his bat in solidarity with Gaza during a series against Pakistan, the ICC are not well inclined towards ‘political, religious or racial’ messages on kit or clothing.
Shah’s message, which saluted ‘our brave men and women… who are shielding our nation from terrorism’, was far more pointed than that. Who, then, is advising him? And, if anyone is, is he paying attention?
Still, cricket can hardly say it wasn’t warned: when you wave through the appointment of the son of India’s minister for home affairs, you can hardly act all shocked when matters take a turn for the political.
A fightback against elitism
English cricket is regularly accused of elitism, so it was good to hear of plans for a new state-school competition, run by the unsung MCC Foundation.
It will be called the Knight-Stokes Cup, in honour of two of England’s state-school-educated captains (Heather Knight went to Plymstock School in Plymouth, Stokes to Cockermouth School in Cumbria) and has attracted entries from 128 boys teams and 64 girls teams.
The T20 competition launches on June 26, and finals day will take place at Lord’s next summer.
I'll take Leicestershire's riposte with good Grace
Ever since I placed Grace Road 18th out of 18 among the county HQs I most enjoy visiting, Leicestershire have been a team on a mission.
Victory over Middlesex on Sunday, their first in the championship at Lord’s for 45 years, was their fourth of the season, more than any team in the country.
OK, guys, point taken…
