Head coach Brendon McCullum had special words of praise in store for “once-in-a-generation” cricketer Ben Stokes and remains assured that the England skipper Ben Stokes will give his all against their arch-rival Australia in the highly anticipated Ashes. England had plenty of positives to take away from the testing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy that ended in a 2-2 draw. Before being ruled out of the fifth Test, Ben Stokes led from the front and set an example for his side, a blend of experience and raw talent.
Ben Stokes stellar performance in a 5-match series
Ben Stokes bowled 140 overs, his most he has bowled in a Test series. Before the nerve-wracking series finale, Ben Stokes was the leading wicket-taker for his side with a whopping 17 scalps to his name at 25.23. His efforts weren’t limited to the bowling front.After initially struggling to find his mojo, Ben Stokes rediscovered his form with a scintillating 141(191) during the fourth Test in Manchester. With Ben Stokes firing all cylinders, McCullum was in awe of the experienced all-rounder.
Ben Stokes took himself to dark places after elongating his spells in London and Manchester. Ben Stokes even bowled 10-over spells at Lord’s to inspire the Three Lions to a famous 22-run victory. The unrelenting spells took a toll on his body, and he was ruled out of the contest due to a right shoulder muscle injury.
England captain Ben Stokes was ruled out of the fifth and final Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against India, owing to a right shoulder injury. Ollie Pope will step in as the skipper in The Oval Test, which will get underway on Thursday.This is a massive blow for England as the in-form star Ben Stokes was the Player of the Match in both the third and fourth Tests for his all-around performance.
So far, Stokes scored 304 runs in the four Tests, comprising a century in Manchester, and picked up 17 wickets, the most by any bowler in the contest, at 25.24, with one five-wicket haul. During the fourth Test, Stokes was forced to bowl lengthy spells after India batted for 143 overs across five sessions to pull off a draw. Stokes bowled a total of 35 overs across the two innings and was seen clutching his shoulder during the spell.
England Test captain Ben Stokes achieved a rare milestone in Manchester on Thursday by taking a five-wicket haul against India, finishing with figures of 5/72. This accomplishment makes Stokes only the fourth cricketer in men’s Test history to score 10 or more centuries and take at least five five-wicket hauls. Stokes joins an elite group of legendary all-rounders including Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, and Jacques Kallis with this achievement. He currently has 13 Test hundreds and five five-wicket hauls to his name.
Stokes delivered a remarkable performance during the final day of the third Lord’s Test. He bowled nearly 10 consecutive overs and claimed KL Rahul’s crucial wicket.
Working alongside Jofra Archer, they reduced India to 82/7 during a 193-run chase. Stokes later broke a resilient 35-run partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, with Bumrah facing 54 deliveries.At Lord’s, Ben Stokes bowled 44 overs and claimed five wickets. He also contributed with the bat, scoring 44 and 33 runs, and executed a crucial run-out of Rishabh Pant, earning him the Player of the Match award.
While nowadays everyone citing the importance of Workload management, A question really baffles that Stokes who has bowled 127 overs across the series until now for his 17 wickets alongside important knocks with the bat just defies this workload talks in thin air. Former English all -rounder Moeen Ali is in all praise of this maverick all round skipper Ben Stokes and has prasied laurels for him considering him as the Player of the series for England.
Moeen Ali picks up Ben Stokes as his Player of the series for England in a 5 match test series
Former all-rounder Moeen Ali named Ben Stokes as his ‘Player of the Series’ after the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. The series ended ina 2-2 draw as India beat the hosts in the fifth and finalTest at the Oval. Ben Stokes missed the fifth Test due to a shoulder injury. Moeen Ali reckoned that Ben Stokes made a big difference with his all-round performances. He added that the all-rounder’s absence was a huge miss for England at thee Oval, where they lost by six runs.
“Ben Stokes. I think he was the big difference. Generally, his all-round performance was unbelievable. He showed his true abilities. He was England’s best bowler for the first three games. I think he was a big miss in the last game. His runs, his wickets, proper all-round stuff,” he said on the ‘Beard Before Wicket‘ podcast.
Stokes scored 304 runs in the four Tests, comprising a century in Manchester, and picked up 17 wickets, the most by any bowler in the contest, at 25.24, with one five-wicket haul. The injury served as a massive setback, considering he returned to the on-field action after a long spell on the sidelines. McCullum believes the injury setbacks are a part and parcel of the game, but Stokes’ return to form is an ominous sign for the team with Ashes 2025-26 in sight.
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