Is Ben Stokes, The Batter, Holding Bazball Back?

Do you remember Ben Stokes, the batter, last contributing in Tests? 

Chances are that you don’t remember. Since becoming England’s full-time skipper, Stokes has an average of just 33.08, flopping more often than he’s succeeded. In the Bazball era, it is not a surprise that Stokes has been the worst batter. 

In his leadership, the left-hander has averaged just 33.08 – the lowest for any batter on this side, even lower than Jonny Bairstow, who has been frozen out of England’s Test scheme of things. 

Despite all of that, Stokes’ batting woes haven’t yet surfaced in mainstream media. Because it is easy to fool your brain into thinking that Stokes is a clutch player, and he is, as an all-rounder. But that’s where that one innings - the 155 he scored against Australia at Lord’s comes to fool your brain. 

Lowest average for an English batter in Bazball era (min 700 runs)

33.08 - Ben Stokes*

33.18 - Zak Crawley

39.72 - Ollie Pope

45.56 - Jamie Smith

45.96 - Jonny Bairstow

46.5 - Ben Duckett

When you look at the numbers, you would be shocked to see that Stokes has the lowest average for any English captain in the red-ball format (min 1500 runs), averaging just 33.5, even lower than Michael Vaughan. 

Lowest average for an England captain in Tests

33.5 - Ben Stokes*

36.02 - Michael Vaughan

36.04 - Nasser Hussain

38.11 - Colin Cowdrey

*Min 1500 runs

Stokes’ terrible batting lapse is easily ignorable on most days, considering how the top order - Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett - have been rock solid. If you add Joe Root and Harry Brook to that list, England have quite a solid batting unit, which helps Stokes’ bad form go under the radar. 

But on days like Friday (July 4), Stokes’ batting becomes England’s BIGGEST HEADACHE. For one of the biggest Test sides, trying to create a revolution, their captain is a complete nuisance with the bat. 

Previously, you’d have some sort of confidence within you that Stokes would come out to bat and take England from 84/4 to 200/5 within a session. That he would take the attack to the opponents in the blink of an eye, but the reality is far away from the dreamland, as Stokes has a strike rate of 67.4. 

Most single-digits scores for a captain in Tests since May 2022

16 - Ben Stokes*

14 - Kraigg Brathwaite

13 - Rohit Sharma

8 - Najmul Shanto

8 - Andrew Balbirnie

*Among top 6 batters

Now, even before you can close your eyes and dream about the glorious scenario when Stokes is tormenting the bowling unit, Stokes is a goner. That’s the problem. That’s the headache, and unfortunately for England, it isn’t a small one. He’s the captain.