Ben Stokes’ batting looks in terminal decline

Ben Stokes surveyed the wreckage of his stumps, wearing the look of a man who had just been betrayed. In a sense, he had, just not by the pitch. Instead, Stokes’s problem was his porous defence, which allowed Nathan Smith’s delivery to bisect his bat and uproot his off stump.

It has become a disarmingly common sight: Stokes’s bemused frown, unable to process what has just become of his wicket. Yet the real worry for Stokes at Lord’s was not the uneven bounce which afflicted other batsmen. Rather, it was that he continued his worrying penchant for making good balls look great.

At least Stokes’s duck, following his first-innings 12, provided vindication of sorts: for his demotion in the order to No 7. The decision to switch Stokes and Jamie Smith, whose 39 appears crucial in a low-scoring game, was belated recognition of the decline in Stokes’s batting.

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In 2019-20, while Joe Root was enduring a relative slump, Stokes had a legitimate case for being England’s best batsman. But from thriving at five during his peak years as a Test batsman, Stokes’s recent record now befits a No 7.

Like Ian Botham, his rival for the mantle of England’s greatest Test all-rounder, Stokes has scored 14 Test centuries. The pair even have almost-identical averages: Botham 33.54 and Stokes 34.58. But now, Stokes is threatening to emulate Botham’s late-career decline with the bat.

In the last 23 Tests of his career, Botham averaged just 24 with the bat, unable to summon more match-turning innings from the middle order. Over his last 24 Tests, Stokes now averages 27.09.

Stokes does not just average less than any other man to play more than five Tests in England’s top seven over the past two years. He is also scoring significantly slower: Stokes’s strike rate since 2024 is 54, which is lower than his figure before he became captain.

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The relative slowness of Stokes’s scoring reflects how his batting has lost its identity. Rather than the hyperactive dasher of his first summer as Test captain, or the smart counter-attacker of his peak years, Stokes’s batting is now characterised by bloody-mindedness that can feel curiously passive. In the Ashes he faced 503 balls, the third most of anyone on either side, yet Stokes scored so slowly that he averaged just 18.4.

Where Botham’s form with both disciplines collapsed, Stokes’s bowling has been revitalised: his 35 Test wickets since the start of last summer have cost 25.14 apiece. But while his light diet of cricket outside the Test arena has helped his bowling, Stokes’s batting has suffered.

Stokes has not played a 50-over match since the 2023 World Cup; he has not played a T20 international since the 2022 World Cup, or any short-format match at all since 2024. Since August 2024, the sum of his professional cricket is 16 Tests for England, and two county championship matches for Durham. Across these 22 months, Stokes has faced just 1,535 balls in professional cricket: the equivalent of three overs of batting per week. Without finding form elsewhere, Stokes is perpetually trying to regain his rhythm in Test cricket.

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The need to manage his workload at the age of 35 is undeniable. Stokes loathes warm-up matches, which are not a natural fit with a character who throws all of himself into every delivery with bat or ball.

Yet Stokes’s batting has suffered from a rare problem in the modern game: he does not play enough cricket. As such, Stokes is simply not being afforded the best chance to nurture his batting outside the Test arena.

For all the importance of his bowling to England’s balance, he could benefit from playing as a specialist batsman in first-class cricket. As well as playing more for Durham, he could also have guested for England Lions against South Africa to prepare for this Test series.

Before England play Pakistan in August, Stokes has decided to opt out of the Hundred, such is his determination to prioritise Test cricket. Yet, to have more time at the crease, he could even benefit from playing in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

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The transformation in Stokes’s bowling over the past year has given England a new dimension. Stokes has repeatedly spoken about his desire to be a fully-fledged all-rounder once again. Regaining this status now rests on whether he can reinvigorate his batting.

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