Ranking Ben Stokes’ 5 best international innings

On Sunday, Ben Stokes played one of the greatest Test match innings as England pulled off a quite remarkable chase against Australia at Headingly, and kept the Ashes alive.

Stokes’ 135 not out led a record chase for England, as they reached 362, with just one wicket in hand. Crucial to the victory was the Durham all-rounder’s partnership with the number 11, Jack Leach, as the pair put on a 76-run partnership for the last wicket.

It completed a stunning turnaround for England, who were rolled over for just 67 in the first innings, leaving them 112 runs short of Australia’s first innings total. England’s chase looked to be in good shape with Joe Root and Joe Denly reaching 50, but a series of wickets after lunch on day four left them staring defeat in the face.

The innings helps cement Stokes as one of, if not the, finest all-rounders in world cricket. He was one of the players of the World Cup, and was the Man of the Match in the final against New Zealand for his innings that helped to take the game to a Super Over.

In represents an incredible turn of fortune for Stokes, who just two years ago missed the Ashes down under having been left out of the squad after an incident outside a nightclub in Bristol, a charge he was ultimately found not guilty of.

A year earlier, he was hit for four sixes in the final over of the World T20 by Carlos Brathwaite, as he failed to defend 19 runs in the final over.

But since then, Stokes has played some brilliant cricket for England. These are his five best innings in international cricket.

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#5 120 v Australia, Perth, December 2013

Stokes' hundred at Perth was his first in an England shirt

The 2013/14 Ashes series Down Under was a bit of a disaster for England. They were hammered 5-0, and they would prove to be the final international games played by Kevin Pietersen, as he was sacked by the selectors. If there were any positives to come from the tour, it was the performances of Stokes, who had been picked for the Test side for the first time.

In the second innings of the third Test at Perth, England were set an almost impossible fourth innings target of 504 to win, after another all too familiar batting collapse. The top order folded once again, but Stokes, alongside Ian Bell, showed some fight. The all-rounder was happy to take on the short ball, and showed real character and temperament as he made 120, his first Test ton, and the only one England scored in that series.

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#4 101 v New Zealand, Lord’s, May 2015

Stokes 85-ball ton was the fastest in Test cricket at Lord's

Despite that innings in Perth, Stokes’ Test career didn’t really kick on, and he had a tough time over the coming year. In the summer of 2014, he appeared in just two Test matches against India, and was dropped after being dismissed for a pair in the defeat at Lord’s. It wasn’t until the following summer that he returned to form in Test cricket, when he was moved up to bat at number six by coach Paul Farbrace.

That paid off immediately in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s, as Stokes was named man of the match. Coming off the back of a 92 in the first innings, the left hander went one better in the second innings. He played positive cricket, taking the game to the New Zealand bowlers as he went to a century off just 85 balls, the fastest Test hundred at Lord’s, a knock that included 15 fours and three sixes. He wasn’t done yet though, as he picked up three wickets in New Zealand’s second innings, including Kane Williamson and Brendan McCullum in consecutive deliveries.

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#3 258 v South Africa, Cape Town, January 2016

This remains the only double hundred of Stokes' international career

While the majority of Stokes’ best innings have been a combination of his ability to get through tough spells of bowling and strike the ball to the boundary late on his innings, this innings in the second in Cape Town was just about power. Coming to the crease with the score at 167-4, Stokes totally changed the game. After seeing off the opening spell from Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel, he was joined at the crease by Jonny Bairstow, and together they launched an astonishing attack on the South African bowling attack.

When his innings finally came to an end after more than five and a half hours at the crease, he had scored 258 runs in just 198 balls, and put on a partnership with Bairstow of 399 from just over 58 overs. He hit the ball to all parts of the ground, hitting 30 fours and 11 sixes, the most by any England player in a Test innings, and the joint-second most of all teams, behind only Wasim Akram’s 12.

#2 84* v New Zealand, Lord’s, July 2019

Stokes was named Man of the Match in the World Cup Final

When it comes down to judging a player, you often have to judge them on whether they can bring their A-game to the big occasions, when their team needs them the most, and England had never needed Stokes more than in the World Cup final at Lord’s against New Zealand. Chasing just 242 to win, England got off to a poor start, and by the time the fourth wicket went down, they had scored just 86 runs in 23 overs.

Stokes came together with Jos Buttler, and the pair put together a hundred partnership, with the tide appearing to turn against England. But when Buttler fell, and Chris Woakes soon followed, the game looked to be going the way of New Zealand again. But Stokes held his nerve, finding the boundary when he needed, and running well with the tail to somehow take the game to a Super Over. He played his part in the Super Over as well, as England scored 15, enough to win the World Cup for the first time.

#1 135* v Australia, Headingly, August 2019

Stokes' hundred against Australia was perhaps the best Test innings ever by an Englishman

They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but on this occasion, it did, and twice in the space of just six weeks. At tea on day two of the third Test against Australia, it seemed inevitable that the Ashes were returning Down Under. England had been bowled out for just 67 in their first innings, and trailed Australia by 112 runs, already 1-0 down in the series. By the time the Aussies were all out in the second innings they were 358 ahead, meaning England would need a record total to keep the Ashes alive.

England made a promising start, with Joe Root, Joe Denly and Jonny Bairstow all making runs, but wickets continued to fall, and a lower order collapse left England needing 73 runs as the final man, Jack Leach, joined Stokes at the crease. With hope all but lost, Stokes went on the counter attack, playing some extraordinary shots as England closed in on their victory target. Despite a couple of nervy moments toward the end, Stokes cut through the off side to take England home, and complete one of the all-time great Test match innings.