From Bristol incident to World Cup and Ashes heroics – Ben Stokes’ highs and lows

All-rounder Stokes is the new England Test skipper.

Ben Stokes has been confirmed as captain of England’s men’s Test team, taking over after five years of Joe Root’s leadership.

It sees the Durham all-rounder assume one of the most prestigious positions in British sport.

Here the PA news agency looks at some of Stokes’ previous best moments, as well as some of those that he will look back on less fondly.

Highs

World Cup winner

Ben Stokes led England to World Cup glory (Nick Potts/PA)

Miracle at Headingley

Just six weeks after his World Cup stunner, Stokes put together a performance that many experts rated as even more remarkable. After being bowled out for a humiliating 67 in the first innings of the third Ashes Test, Stokes inspired a national record chase of 359 on a delirious fourth day in Leeds. His last-wicket stand of 76 with number 11 Jack Leach, who accounted for just one of them, is already the stuff of cricketing folklore.

Making his mark

Captain in a crisis

Stokes was making a gentle recovery from a broken finger last June when a Covid-19 outbreak in Eoin Morgan’s one-day international squad sent selectors scrambling to piece together a replacement party from scratch. Stokes answered the call to lead the side despite lacking full fitness and inspired a cut-and-paste group to a remarkable 3-0 series win over a full-strength Pakistan.

Lows

The Bristol incident

Ben Stokes outside court — Ben Stokes was found not guilty on a charge of affray (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Kolkata calamity

England were six balls away from landing the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, with the West Indies needing an unlikely 19 off the final over of the tournament. Stokes, who had emerged as a bankable death bowler, stepped up and was promptly launched for four consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite. He cut a crestfallen figure among the Caribbean celebrations but would soon bounce back.

A bad break

Time away

Shortly after answering the SOS to help salvage the Pakistan one-day series in 2021, Stokes felt compelled to go on an indefinite hiatus from the game and appealed for privacy as he focused on his mental health and return from a painful finger injury. He sat out a high-profile Test series against India and the T20 World Cup in the UAE, admitting to being in “a real dark place” before returning to take part in this winter’s Ashes.