Ben Stokes might be leading England’s Test team with aggression and flair, but with the bat, things have taken a worrying turn for the English captain.
Day 3 of the second Test against England at Edgbaston brought more misery as Stokes walked in to bat after Joe Root’s dismissal but had to depart on his very first ball.
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Facing Mohammed Siraj in the 22nd over, Ben Stokes received a sharp short ball that climbed awkwardly, brushed his glove, and flew straight to Rishabh Pant. It was Stokes’ first-ever golden duck in Test cricket and left England reeling at 84-for-five during a crunch first session.
Ben Stokes batting record as England Test captain
Stokes ' batting form has been under the scanner since taking over England captaincy in the Bazball era starting in May 2022. While the team has made headlines for fearless cricket, his own numbers tell a different story.
He has now registered 16 single-digit scores as Test captain, the most by any skipper in the world during this period.
That's more single-digit scores than Kraigg Brathwaite, Rohit Sharma, and Najmul Shanto, all of whom have had inconsistent phases but still trail behind Stokes in this statistic.
| Player | Single-Digit Scores |
|---|---|
| Ben Stokes (ENG) | 16 |
| Kraigg Brathwaite (WI) | 14 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 13 |
| Najmul Shanto (BAN) | 8 |
| Andrew Balbirnie (IRE) | 8 |
MORE: Which Indian batters have scored the most runs in SENA nations?
When did Ben Stokes last score a Test century?
Stokes hasn’t reached the three-figure mark since the 2023 Ashes. His last century came at Lord’s against Australia, where he hit an emphatic 155 in the fourth innings of the second Test.
That knock included three back-to-back sixes off Cameron Green and gave England a brief hope, though they eventually lost the game.
In his last 27 Test innings, Stokes has scored only 664 runs at an average of 26.56, which is a clear sign of how much he has struggled with the bat lately.