England captain Ben Stokes may have endured a difficult outing with the bat in the first Test against New Zealand, but head coach Brendon McCullum insists the all-rounder is not far away from rediscovering his touch.
Stokes scored just 12 and 0 during England’s 115-run victory at Lord’s. However, batting conditions were challenging throughout the match and several players struggled to make significant contributions.
Despite the modest returns, McCullum believes there are encouraging signs in Stokes’ game.
“I feel like his fluency is starting to come back,” McCullum said.
“It would have been great if he had been able to get instant gratification with runs in this match. It didn’t happen, but I’m pretty confident we’ll see some runs and output in the Tests to come.”
Search for Consistency
Stokes’ batting form has been under scrutiny since England’s Ashes defeat, where he averaged only 18 and often adopted a more defensive approach than usual.
Last summer, he ended a two-year wait for a Test century with a hundred against India at Old Trafford. However, a shoulder injury forced him to miss the final Test of that series and interrupted his momentum.
One challenge facing the England captain is his limited cricket outside the international arena.
Stokes has not played white-ball cricket since the 2024 season of The Hundred. Before this summer, his two County Championship appearances for Durham in May were his first domestic matches in two years after recovering from a broken cheek.
Asked about his batting after the victory over New Zealand, Stokes preferred to focus on the team’s success.
“We just won our first Test match of the summer, so that’s where I’m going to concentrate at the moment,” he said.
New Role at Number Seven
The 35-year-old has also moved down one place in the batting order, swapping positions with wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and batting at number seven.
The change is partly designed to reduce some of the pressures associated with captaincy while allowing Stokes to use his experience later in the innings.
McCullum believes the role suits him well.
“Number seven is quite a nice role for him,” the New Zealander explained.
“With his experience and cricketing nous, he’s able to operate and guide the tail quite nicely. Plus, he’s got the raw power if need be to score quickly when you’re eight or nine wickets down.”
Statistics suggest captaincy has affected Stokes differently as a batter and bowler. While his batting average has dropped to 32 as captain compared to nearly 36 previously, his bowling has improved significantly, with wickets coming at an average of 28 compared to almost 33 before taking charge.
Trust and Experience
McCullum also highlighted Stokes’ strong character and willingness to listen to constructive advice.
“Stokesy has conviction in what he believes. He’s very rational,” McCullum said.
“He only trusts a certain amount of people, which is no bad thing in life. If you’re able to make valid points, then he is very rational in being able to take those on board.”
The England coach feels a lack of regular cricket can sometimes make players overthink their game.
“Sometimes when you don’t play a lot of cricket, in the pursuit of improvement, you can become rigid or robotic. That’s just what us cricketers do.”
Busy Summer Ahead
After the three-Test series against New Zealand, several England players will move into white-ball cricket against India before participating in The Hundred.
Stokes, however, is not part of England’s limited-overs plans and does not have a Hundred contract.
That leaves him with limited opportunities for match practice before England’s next Test assignment, a three-match home series against Pakistan beginning in August.
Durham head coach Ryan Campbell has suggested Stokes could feature in the One-Day Cup, which runs alongside The Hundred, but no decision has been made.
For now, England’s management remains convinced their captain is on the right track.
“I’m confident with the work he’s been doing,” McCullum said.
“I feel like he’s moving a lot better. I genuinely think his batting is going to get some decent positives in the next little while. He’s not too far away.”
Discussion about this post