Ben Stokes

Born in New Zealand, Stokes moved to England when he was 12. His talent was evident from an early age. Being an attacking left-handed batsman who can provide breakthroughs with the ball makes Stokes an indispensable player for any team he plays for.

From making his one-day debut against Surrey in 2009 to helping his country win their maiden World Cup in 2019, Ben Stokes has come a long way. He is widely regarded as one of the most expressive all-rounders of the modern era.

Ben Stokes - Along the Years

Ben Stokes Records

1. Fastest 250 (196 balls) in Tests
2. Most runs in a Test innings at the sixth position - 258 runs
3. Most runs in the first session of a day in Tests - 130 runs
4. Highest Test partnership for the sixth wicket. Made a partnership of 399 runs with Jonny Bairstow against South Africa.
5. Second-fastest Test double hundred in terms of balls faced.
6. The second-highest number of sixes in a Test inning - 11.
7. He became the second cricketer after Ian Botham to have over 4,000 runs and over 100 wickets in Tests for England.
8. The highest number of sixes in a County Championship innings – 17 (for Durham against Worcestershire in May 2022)

Ben Stokes Awards and Accolades

• Ben Stokes was awarded the Man of the Final in the Cricket World Cup 2019. He was also voted Player’s Player of the Year at the Professional Cricketers’ Association Awards in October 2013.
• Ben Stokes was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Allerdale on 25 September 2019.
• Ben Stokes was awarded the 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year in Aberdeen

Ben Stokes Career

Ben Stokes Domestic Career

Stokes made his one-day debut in 2009 for Durham at The Oval. That year he also played in two youth tests against Bangladesh U19. Stokes was selected for the 2019 Under-19 World Cup. His first-class debut came against Marylebone Cricket Club. The same year he made his Championship debut for Durham against Essex. He made his first first-class ton against Nottinghamshire. In January 2015, Ben Stokes joined Australia’s Big Bash League’s side Melbourne Renegades.

Ben Stokes IPL Career

Stokes was bought by the Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs 14.5 crore for the 2017 season. He made his maiden T20 century when he scored 103 not out against Gujarat Lions. In the 2017 season, Stokes was awarded the Man of The Match trophy a total of three times in 14 matches. Ben Stokes was the most expensive player in the 2018 IPL auction as he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.5 crores.

Stokes played 13 matches in 2018, scoring 196 runs and taking eight wickets. In 2019 and 2020, playing for the Rajasthan Royals, Stokes played only 9 and 8 matches, respectively. He scored his second century on 25 October 2020 in a game against Mumbai Indians. Stokes played only one match in the 2021 IPL and did not play in 2022.

Ben Stokes International Career

Ben Stokes ODI Career

Stokes made his ODI debut against Ireland in 2011. His next ODI series was against Indian. His injury during the series prevented him from bowling and he was picked as a batsman only. In 2012, Stokes didn’t play a single game for England cricket team due to injury, lack of form and other issues related to discipline. Stokes was again picked up for the ODI squad in the first ODI against West Indies in 2014.

Later that year, Stokes was part of the squad for the series against India. He was dropped after the two matches but was recalled for the final match of the series, in which he took 3 wickets in addition to making 33 runs. His performance with both the bat and ball improved in the ODI series against New Zealand in 2015. He helped his team win the series decider by taking 3 wickets for 52 runs.

Also see - Marcus Stoinis Biography

The next ODI series that Stokes played was against South Africa where he scored a half-century in the first and third match of the series. England continued his good form with the bat in the ODI series against Pakistan national cricket team. Stokes scored two fifties in the series against India in 2016-2017.

Ben Stokes’ impressive performance in the 2017 Champions Trophy saw him named a part of the ‘Team of the Tournament’. For his performances, he was named in the World ODI Xi by the ICC for 2017 and 2018. In April 2019 Ben Stokes was selected to represent England in the 2019 World Cup.

Stokes played a crucial role in making England the World Champions, especially in the final. Stokes scored 84 not out and help tied the match and then again batted in the Super Over where the score got tied again but England won on the boundary count rule. He was named in the Team of the Tournament by the ICC.

After the 2019 World Cup, Ben Stokes next featured in an ODI against India on 23 March 2021. Stokes played three matches against the Indians in which he took four wickets and scored 135 runs, including one knock of 99. His next series was in July against Pakistan. He failed to pick up any wickets in the three matches but was able to score a total of 54 runs. Stokes’ next series came a year later, in July 2022, against India in England.

In the three matches, Stokes did not get much opportunity with the ball. With the bat, he was unimpressive as well, scoring only 48 runs. On 19 July 2022, after playing an ODI against South Africa, Ben Stokes shocked the world as he announced his retirement from the format. As stated by him, the reason behind his early retirement from ODI cricket was that he couldn’t sustain playing in all three formats and wanted to focus more on T20I and Test cricket.

Ben Stokes Test Career

Stokes made his Test debut against Australia in the second Test of the 2013-14 Ashes series. In England’s second innings of the third Test of the series, he made his maiden Test century, scoring 120 off 195 balls. Although England was whitewashed, Stokes showed strong all-round performance in the series scoring 279 runs and taking 15 wickets. The next major Test series for Stokes was against India national cricket team in 2014. His poor performance with the bat in the first two Tests saw him getting dropped from the team for the rest of the series.

Stokes was recalled to the side to tour the West Indies. Stokes performance in the tournament was nowhere near what was expected from him. Despite his poor performance, Stokes was retained in the tea for the Test series against New Zealand. In the second innings of the first Test of the series, Ben Stokes recorded the fastest ever Test century at Lord’s and second fastest by an England batsman. He took only 85 balls to reach the 100 run mark. Stokes was selected for the 2015 Ashes. His performance in the series was a mixed bag as England went on to win the series 3-2.

The same year, Stokes was selected for the tour against Pakistan in the UAE. Stokes performed well in the first match of the series, scoring a half-century and taking four wickets. In the third and final match, he suffered a shoulder injury. Ben Stokes recovered fully from the injury and was selected for the tour against South Africa in 2015-16.

In the second match of the series, Stokes made 258 runs from 167 balls, his career-best performance in the Tests. It was also the second-fastest double century in the history of Test cricket. In the passage of this innings, he made a partnership of 399 runs with Jonny Bairstow for the sixth wicket, which was a new world record. Stokes took five wickets in both the third and the fourth match of the series.

In 2016, Stokes was selected for the Test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Stokes picked up an injury in the first match of the series against Sri Lanka and was ruled out of the rest of the series. Stokes made a recovery and returned in action in the second Test against Pakistan. Following this series, he played against India in 2016-17. He scored a century in the first Test against India. ICC named him in the World Test XI for the years 2016 and 2017.

After performing splendidly in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Stokes once again proved his mettle in the 2019 Ashes. He played a crucial role in drawing the series 2-2 by scoring 135 not out while chasing a target of 359 runs to help England win the match from an almost certain loss.

In 2018, Stokes played a couple of series against India and Sri Lanka. Against India, Stokes bowled brilliantly in the first Test, taking a total of 6 wickets. Stokes played another three matches against India and took another eight wickets, and scored 173 runs.

A couple of months later, Stokes played three games against Sri Lanka in which he had two fifty-plus scores. Next, in 2019, Stokes played the Ashes series. In the first match, Stokes took four wickets and scored a half-century. Then, in the next game at Lord’s, Stokes scored a fabulous century, for which he was awarded the player of the match. Stokes, in the third match, played one of the best matches ever in Test history.

He scored a fabulous unbeaten 135 to help England chase down a target of 359 and win the match with one wicket to spare. In 2020, Stokes scored a half-century and a brilliant century against South Africa. Next, against the West Indies, Stokes scored 176 runs in a single inning and 78 in the next one.

Next, in an away series against India, Stokes played four matches. Against India, he had a couple of fifty-plus scores and took a total of five wickets. In the following series against Australia in the Ashes, Stokes took four wickets and had a couple of 60-plus scores.

Then, in the West Indies series in 2022, Stokes scored a century. After the West Indies series, Joe Root gave up his captaincy role, and Stokes was appointed as the new Test captain of England. In his first Test series as captain, Stokes won the series and scored a couple of half-centuries.

Then, in a one-off match against India in July, Stokes took five wickets and scored 25 runs, and led his team to a victory. Stokes’ last series was against South Africa, in which Stokes scored his latest century and also took a total of ten wickets in three matches.

Ben Stokes T20I Career

Ben Stokes made his T20I debut against West Indies in 2011. He then played two matches in the Twenty20 series against New Zealand. Stokes punched a locker after a match against West Indies in 2014 which resulted in him getting ruled out of the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup. Stokes was the part of the squad for the one-off T20 match against New Zealand in 2015 where he scored 24 not out and took two wickets.

Stokes failed to impress in the two-match T20I series against South Africa in 2015-16. Stokes was selected for the 2016 ICC Twenty20 World Cup. Stoke was not very impactful in the initial stage of the tournament. Stokes bowled well in the semi-final against the Kiwis to take three wickets for 26 runs. In the last over of the final, Ben Stokes was given the ball to defend 19 runs. But he was hit for four consecutive sixes by Carlos Braithwaite and West Indies lifted the Cup.

After the heartbreaking World Cup, Stokes played in the one-off T20I against Pakistan and in the three-match T20I series against India.

In the series against India, Stokes scored a total of 46 runs and took two wickets. Next, he played a couple of matches in 2018 against India and Sri Lanka. Stokes’ following series was in 2020 against South Africa.

He played three games and scored 63 runs, and picked up four wickets with the ball. His next series was also against South Africa in November-December 2020. He played three games in which he scored 53 runs and took two wickets in total.

In 2021, Stokes played five T20Is against India, in which he picked up only three wickets and scored 84 runs in three innings. His last series was against Australia in October 2022, in which he played three matches and scored 33 runs and took one wicket

Ben Stokes Family

Ben Stokes was born in Christchurch, England to Gerard Stokes and Deborah Stokes. His father was a rugby league player and coach. His family moved to England after his father was appointed head coach of Workington Town rugby league club. Stokes grew up in Cockermouth and started playing for Cockermouth Cricket Club. Ben Stokes married Clare Ratcliffe in 2017 and has two children, son Layton and daughter Libby.