Ben Stokes outlined the yr of Take a look at cricket greater than every other by means of very good performances in 2022 and is the clear and deserving winner of the ICC Males’s Take a look at Cricketer of the Yr award. On the idea of his numbers alone, England’s talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes had a superb yr within the whites of worldwide Take a look at cricket. However generally the sport is about extra than simply numbers, and in 2022 Stokes and new England head coach Brendon McCullum utterly remodeled the shape, fortunes and elegance of the England Males’s Take a look at workforce.
Gamers and groups have performed extremely attacking cricket earlier than. However Stokes has delivered a brand new degree for his constant dedication to England’s entertaining and aggressive approaches with the bat, ball and within the discipline.
Since taking up as England captain, Stokes has led the workforce to 9 wins from 10 Exams, finishing sequence victories over New Zealand and South Africa at house, beating India within the one-off postponed Take a look at to degree the sequence at 2-2 and hammering Pakistan 3-0 away from house – England’s greatest ever margin of victory within the nation.
Previous to his appointment as captain, England had been overwhelmed in every of their 4 most up-to-date accomplished sequence and had gained simply certainly one of their earlier 17 Exams.
As a captain Stokes was massively spectacular, setting intelligent traps along with his fields and utilising his bowlers brilliantly all year long. He was additionally truthful however decisive along with his choice choices, bringing in new faces when required however not afraid to depart out kind gamers if the circumstances benefit it.
With the bat Stokes loved a powerful 2022, scoring 870 runs at a median of 36.25 and an aggressive strike price of 71.21, notching up two centuries.
His first-inning 103 within the second Take a look at in opposition to South Africa was the standout knock of his yr, giving his workforce some impetus instantly after their solely Take a look at lack of the English summer time.
Stokes additionally took 4 wickets in that match, ending the South Africa sequence with 10 dismissals to his identify and a median of 15.70.
Whereas his total numbers with the ball for 2022 do not bounce out as distinctive (26 wickets at 31.19), Stokes deployed himself in a variety of totally different tactical roles all year long, prioritising influence and workforce steadiness over his particular person statistics.
Group data tumbled below Stokes’ captaincy. And it was with the bat that the data had been most eye-catching.
England’s scoring price of 4.13 throughout 15 Exams in 2022 was the second highest in historical past and probably the most since Australia in 1910. These stats embrace the away defeat to West Indies and the top of the Ashes loss below Joe Root. Within the matches wherein Stokes led England, the workforce struck at a game-changing 4.77 per over.
England’s 506/4 on the opening day of the primary Take a look at in opposition to Pakistan was probably the most runs scored by any workforce on the primary day of a Take a look at match. Much more impressively, they got here from simply 75 overs as dangerous mild ended play prematurely.
And of the front-line batters (from numbers one to 6) to have scored no less than 100 runs in Take a look at cricket in 2022, 5 of the seven highest strike charges belong to English gamers – of which Stokes is one. Solely outliers Rishabh Pant and Travis Head cease an English sweep of these stats.
Stokes was earlier this week named because the captain of the ICC Males’s Take a look at eleven for 2022.
He was joined within the choose eleven by his fellow ICC Take a look at Cricketer of the Yr Award nominees – his compatriot Jonny Bairstow, Australia’s Usman Khawaja and South African bowler Kagiso Rabada.
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