FEATURE: There is no stopping Stokes Juggernaut

Whenever England have found themselves in trouble in the recent past, the reliable shoulders of Ben Stokes have always saved them from sinking. Be it in the World Cup final of 2019 or the Ashes succeeding the mega event, Stokes has kept pulling off one heroic act after another.

In fact, Stokes has not only rescued them from such precarious situations but he has gone on to score big and bat long at the same time as well. His juggernaut has been absolutely unstoppable during this period.

It can be argued that he couldn’t save England from sinking in the first Test of the ongoing series against West Indies but a close observation of his two outings at Southampton would tell you that he was in for the big haul on both of those instances as well. Stokes crossed the 40-run mark during each of those outings but he was undone by some superb piece of bowling by the West Indies bowlers.

However, if Stokes’ recent performances are anything to go by, he has always come back stronger after any sort of failure — irrespective of whether it is of the team or his own. And the same thing happened as the second Test against West Indies began at the Old Trafford.

Stokes dug deep once again and plundered 176 runs after walking out to bat with England’s score on 81/3. Not only that, he was involved in a massive 260-run stand with Dom Sibley — that lasted for 568 deliveries — for the fourth wicket as well.

The 29-year-old put on a terrific display of skill and temperament as he brought up his century in 255 balls, at a strike-rate of less than 40. But he scored his next 76 runs in just 101 deliveries. In fact, he moved from 100 to 150 in a span of just 46 deliveries, which is at a strike-rate of over 100 once again. So, that’s some exceptional change of gears from one of the best batsmen in the world at present.

Such has been the enormity of Stokes’ performances in recent times that no other batsman batting at No.5 or lower has scored more runs than him since the start of the World Test Championship last year.

Table: Most runs in Tests at number 5 or lower since 1st August 2019 (start of World Test Championship)

His average is the second best among batsmen who have scored at least 500 runs during this period and his total of seven scores of fifty or more, which includes four hundreds as well, is the joint most by any batsman at number five or lower during this timeframe as well.

However, it would be a mistake to say that Stokes has been good only in the last one year. His form may have peaked during this period but he has always been one of the best middle-order batsmen ever since his debut.

Stokes is also the highest accumulator of runs among batsmen who have batted at number 5 or lower since his debut.

Table: Most Test runs at number 5 or lower since Ben Stokes’ debut (5th December 2013)

His knock of 258 against South Africa in 2016 is still one of the most fascinating double centuries ever witnessed in Tests. It came off just 198 deliveries, at a strike-rate of 130.30, and consisted of a total of 30 fours and 11 sixes. In fact, scoring in boundaries has always been a major feature of Stokes’ batting and that is well explained by the fact that he has hit the highest number of fours (518) and sixes (69) from number 5 or lower during this timeframe as well. So, he has always been an aggressive and dominating force in this format but what he has improved in recent times is his consistency.

His shot selection has improved and he has a higher sense of responsibility now than what he used to have half a decade ago. In fact, if we consider the period before 2018, Stokes had faced 150 or more deliveries in an innings on six occasions in a total of 69 outings. His strike-rate during this timeframe used to be 63.77.

Ben Stokes with the bat

🔸Before 2018🔸

SR — 63.77
Knocks with BF > 150 — 6 in 69 innings

🔸After 2018🔸

SR — 52.14
Knocks with BF > 150 — 7 in 49 innings

A slower, calmer, yet even more dynamic Ben Stokes 😲#ENGvWI

— Stat Doctor🩺 (@stat_doctor) July 17, 2020

However, he has focused on curbing his attacking approach a bit since the beginning of 2018 as his strike-rate of 52.14 during this period suggests. And the result has been quite fruitful as he has gone past the 150-ball mark on seven instances in 49 innings since 2018. So, Stokes is now focused more on spending time at the crease than he has been ever.

These facets of his batting approach were clearly visible when he dug England out of trouble at the Old Trafford over the course of two days. He built his innings on the first day and for the major part of the second day, but he accelerated once he had taken England to a comfortable position.

The dynamic all-rounder might have missed out on his second double ton but he had already helped England in getting a first innings lead of 395 runs by the time he departed. His 176 runs constituted nearly 44.55 percent of England’s total runs at that point of time and that sums up how he stood up when his team needed him the most.

Stokes, though, isn’t done yet as he still has a role to play with the ball. He bowled some terrific spells in the Southampton Test and accounted for a total of six wickets in the match. He would be eager to deliver with his bowling in the same way here and if England still need him to bat in the second innings after that, Stokes will still have enough fire left in him to score another ton at least.