“Ben Stokes! Remember the Name!” But how?
How Ben Stokes can hope to resolve his T20 identity crisis
Ben Stokes’s legacy is much more than “Remember the Name!”, except in T20s.
Sure, he steered England home in the 2022 T20 World Cup final with his maiden T20I fifty that came off 47 balls, but chasing 138, it wasn’t anything special. Anyone else could’ve easily played like he did that day; all you had to do was play through the innings with a boundary here and there.
I know he’s supposed to be leading the Bazball revolution and saving Test cricket, but the English white ball side desperately needs a hero to save the day and help with its transition phase, and playing hero is clearly something up Stokes’ alley, so……
T20 WC?
lol
But before saying it was planned all along, Stokes must plan to resolve his identity crisis in the format.
Jarrod Kimber has already shed light on how he’s formed a T20 identity crisis by constantly being shuffled up and down the order and compared him with Kieron Pollard, who has played at #5 for most of his career like Stokes. But unlike Pollard, most of Stokes’s success as a middle order batter has come when he’s batted early in the innings.
The key to Stokes resolving his identity crisis is simple: open the innings.
Despite playing a lot at #4 and #5, both his T20 tons to date were scored with a powerplay entry point. Stokes virtually opened the innings during his maiden ton. He came in at #5 for the Rising Pune Supergiants 10 balls into the innings at 10/3 chasing 162 against Gujarat Lions during the 2017 season of the Indian Premier League. His second ton also came in the IPL nearly 3.5 years later, this time opening the innings for the Rajasthan Royals chasing 196 against Mumbai Indians.
Of course, everyone would love to open given the lack of fielding restrictions and how there’s a bit of a “grace period” to get your eye in, but in Stokes’s case, that’s the only way he can provide real value in this format. He’s a slow starter with a career first-10-ball SR of 116.83, so the “grace period” is perfect for him. Despite being a slow starter, he has the ability to quickly shift between gears.
Against GL, he reached 50 off 38 balls before accelerating to smash 53 runs off the next 25 balls. In contrast, he maintained a high tempo against MI, scoring 50 from 28 balls followed by 57 runs off the next 32 balls. He does it with conventional shots, which is no surprise given how much Test cricket he’s played.
But as the table shows, Stokes also has the reverse sweep against spin like most Englishmen do, prevalent throughout both tons.
Stokes is comfortable versus offspin, which is a rare trait to possess, but being efficient at attacking them on a good length is even rarer. This puts him in a strong position to take on powerplay operators such as Akeal Hosein and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, as well as guys like Ravichandran Ashwin later on in the middle overs. Part-time offspinners like Glenn Maxwell and Will Jacks also often bowl an over or two early on in the innings as matchup options against LHB-heavy lineups, putting Stokes in great stead against teams who don’t realize he’s an exception to this rule.
However, despite being left-handed, he can’t repeat the dose against leggies.
Like most batters, he’s mainly attacking when it’s full, but his good length record indicates that he is likely to struggle against better leg spinners like Rashid Khan and Adam Zampa who operate on this length. They also attack the stumps a lot more than most spinners, making it especially difficult to score off them.
It’s a similar story against pace: loves it when it’s short or full, but hates it when pitched back-of-a-length or good length.
However, the numbers show that Stokes is good enough to take on most bowling attacks and maximize the powerplay. Unlike many openers, he doesn't slow down post-powerplay either. He averages 43 striking at 137.97 in this phase when given a powerplay entry point. Such intent has been the highlight of T20s played in recent times. Stokes has only played 2 T20s since last year, but he’s always been better at hitting sixes than the average LHB opener in this period. Whereas they hit a six every 19.5 balls, Stokes has hit one every 17.48 balls with a powerplay entry point across his career. They both basically hit fours at the same rate too: every 7.49 balls versus every 7.22 balls.
It’s all the more reason for him to open, and a golden opportunity is coming up to let the world know in the IPL Mega Auction later this year.
Given the heavy demand for pace allrounders, it could be too much for Stokes to resist despite his loyalty to red-ball cricket. He may also be appointed captain of the team that shells out all that money for him. Should that happen, it’d be in the best interest of resolving his identity crisis to play himself as an opener. Even if he isn’t, his new management must recognize this like the Royals did in 2020.
But of course, it’s the hope that kills you.
Recognizing the fact you’re in an identity crisis isn’t the hardest part, but changing yourself is, and it won’t be any different for the Phoenix from the Ashes. In fact, it’ll probably be worse for Stokes. He will have to figure out who he really is in T20s during the IPL, with not just the burden of his reputation, but a large price tag as well. Add cricket’s popularity in India coupled with the already cutthroat nature of T20 cricket, just as you think you’ve figured it out, all it takes is one bad day in the office for you to now begin constantly doubting yourself.
Ben Stokes has gone through the wringer time and time again in his best formats. If resolving his identity crisis benefits England, he wouldn’t mind going another round in his weakest format. Like every player, he doesn’t want to retire with any regrets, and I say the best way for him to ensure that in T20s is by opening. But hey, that’s just me.
Come 2026, perhaps it’ll be his name we are destined to remember.
Thanks to @RishikeshwaranCA for computing the data