Ben Stokes OBE

What makes England’s new test captain a winner?

Whilst England’s new Test cricket captain hit the ground running by winning his first two matches against New Zealand, Ben Stokes certainly appears to be a born winner and the correct choice to lead his nation forward after replacing Joe Root as skipper.

Leading by example is clearly the key to being respected by your own team mates – respect brings support and players who want to help can only serve to bring success. Add into the mix a high level of controlled aggression and bravery to an already complete all-rounder, Stokes has undoubted ability to win matches either with the bat or the ball.

Not only is Stokes captain of the England Test team, but he also plays for the England One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) teams. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including the Indian Premier League, playing for Rising Pune Supergiant and the Rajasthan Royals.

As a left-handed middle-order batsman and right-arm fast bowler, he holds the world record for most runs in an innings at number six, scoring 258 against South Africa during England’s 2015-16 tour. In the same Test, both he and Jonny Bairstow set the world record for highest sixth-wicket stand in Tests, at 399.

He made his ODI and T20I debuts in 2011, and his Test debut in 2013, and was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 2019 and 2020 and won the ICC Award for Best Men’s Cricketer.

Stokes made his one-day debut for Durham in 2009 and his first class debut a year later before being part of the 2013 Championship winning team. 

But what about the character of Ben Stokes then? Success always comes from realising the taste of defeat and making mistakes, ensuring the lessons learned enable yourself to become a better person as a consequence.

Stokes’s list of previous infractions includes being dismissed from the England Lions tour of Australia in 2013 because of some disciplinary action. He was also suspended from the Ashes tour 2017 because of an incident outside a Bristol Nightclub. 

However, the four consecutive sixes that West Indian Carlos Brathwaite smashed off his bowling in the last over of the T20 World Cup in 2016 would have ordinarily demolished a lesser man’s mental strength. 

Not Ben Stokes. How he’s bounced back to become a leader on the pitch has been truly remarkable.

The way he has transformed those negatives into positives is incredibly inspiring because he has become integral for England and a shining example for the whole cricketing world.

On 13 February 2017, Stokes was appointed vice-captain of England’s test team and in the same year, Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants to play in the Indian Premier League. He made his maiden Twenty20 century against Gujarat Lions, hitting 103 not out from 63 balls, including seven fours and six sixes. He was named as the Most Valuable Player for that season.

Then came his heroics of 2019, performances which will last long in the memory for those lucky enough to witness them. First came the World Cup.

In the opening match of the tournament against South Africa, he scored 89 runs from 79 balls, claimed two wickets, and took two catches to be declared “Man of the Match” in a comprehensive 104-run win for England. His catch to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo has been described as “one of the greatest catches of all time” stretching backwards and catching the ball one-handed just in from the boundary…a moment which has been regularly replayed on Sky this summer.

After producing multiple standout performances with the bat later throughout the group stages, Stokes played a hugely important innings in the final against New Zealand, where he scored 84 not out, including 2 sixes in the final over to tie the game. He then batted in the super over with Jos Buttler, which again was a tie, but England won the match on the boundary countback rule and he was named man of the match for the second time in the tournament.

During the Ashes in the same year, England were seemingly heading for defeat in the third Test at Headingly after they were bowled out for 67 in their first innings. Stokes managed to overturn an overnight Australian lead, hitting 11 fours and 8 sixes to win with an unbeaten 135 not out with his innings described as “one of the greatest innings of all time”.

Stokes’s incredible twelve months culminated in being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year and he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to cricket.

England have produced true legends of the game with the names of Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff springing to mind. Ben Stokes OBE can without doubt be thought of in the same way. With the character to bounce back in the way he has, he is unquestionably a winner. The question will be: can he continue to produce at the highest level with the added responsibility and pressure of captaincy? The signs for the future are good and long may this continue.