Benjamin Andrew Stokes OBE (born 4 June 1991) is an English international cricketer who is the captain of the England Test team.

He holds the Test world record for most runs in an innings at number six, scoring 258 against South Africa during England's 2015–16 tour.

[5] Stokes made his List A debut for Durham in 2009 at The Oval and managed to take the wicket of the highly experienced batsman Mark Ramprakash with only his third delivery in professional cricket.

Stokes made his first-class debut for Durham against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) during the traditional season opener, which for 2010 was taking place at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

[15] Having had a very successful debut season in first-class cricket, he was given a place in the England Performance Programme and travelled to Australia during the 2010–11 Ashes.

[17] On 2 January 2015, Stokes joined the Melbourne Renegades of Australia's Big Bash League for the remainder of the season as a replacement for Jesse Ryder, who was ruled out due to an injury.

[18] On 13 February 2017, Stokes was appointed vice-captain of England's test team, deputising under Joe Root, who was made captain the same day.

[19] On 6 May 2022, Stokes marked his return to Durham with a record-breaking 161 from 88 balls on day two of the County Championship game against Worcestershire that included him scoring 34 runs in a single over.

He made his debut in the 2nd Test and took the wickets of Michael Clarke and Peter Siddle before contributing 1 run in England's first innings.

Stokes played in all five ODIs against Australia, his best performance with the ball coming in the second game of the series where he took figures of 3–60, although England lost the match by 59 runs.

He suffered a shoulder injury in the third and final test in Sharjah,[39] but still batted at number 11 as England ultimately lost the match and with it the series.

[42] Stokes' innings was ended in bizarre fashion, when after hitting two successive sixes, he was dropped by AB de Villiers only to be run out having paused between the wickets.

[53] He then batted in the super over with Jos Buttler, which again was a tie, but England won the match on the boundary countback rule then in place.

[55] Faced with an incisive Australian bowling attack and Bradmanesque batting contribution from Steve Smith,[56] Stokes played a pivotal role in enabling England ultimately to draw the 2019 Ashes series 2–2 (although Australia thereby retained the urn).

[57] Stokes managed to overturn an overnight Australian lead, hitting 11 fours and 8 sixes to win with an unbeaten 135* in a record pursuit of 359.

[66] Stokes' form continued into 4-test match tour of South Africa, as he was named player of the series after scoring 318 runs and taking 10 wickets.

Stokes then managed to break the host's resistance, as they fought to draw the game, by taking the final 3 wickets to bowl them out for 248 runs to level the series.

[70] On 17 June 2020, Stokes was included in England's 30-man squad to start training behind closed doors for the Test series against the West Indies.

[76] During the 2021 season, the England limited-over squad suffered a COVID outbreak at the end of a limited overs series against Sri Lanka.

[77] Stokes had not played against Sri Lanka due to injury, leaving him as the most senior player for the Pakistan ODI matches, for which he was named captain.

[2] With new coach Brendon McCullum, Stokes developed a new style of play which would come to be known as Bazball, noted for its fearless and entertaining nature.

[84][85] In June 2022, Stokes started his captaincy with the 3–0 clean sweep of New Zealand cricket team in England in 2022, He scored 194 runs in 5 innings at an average of 48.50[86] In July 2022, England defeated the South African team 2–1 in Test series, Stokes named Player of the Series, he scored 149 runs in 4 innings at an average of 37.25 and picked up 10 wickets at a bowling average of 15.70[87] On 18 July 2022, Stokes announced that he would retire from ODI cricket following the first match of the series against South Africa, citing the physical and mental demands of playing all three formats.

[88] On 16 August 2023, it was announced Stokes would come out of ODI retirement and was named part of England's squad for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

[95][96][97] In October 2024, Ben Stokes committed to a new two-year central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), extending his tenure until the autumn of 2026.

This extension underscores his pivotal role in the national team and aligns with the ECB's strategy to secure the services of key players through significant upcoming series, including the away Ashes in Australia.

[98] 2025: Injury and Recovery In December 2024, during the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, Ben Stokes suffered a torn left hamstring.

[108][109] Stokes and his mother received damages in 2021 from The Sun, who in 2019 had run a front-page story about a family tragedy which was argued not to be in the public interest.

[110] Following the third ODI against West Indies at Bristol in September 2017, Stokes was arrested after becoming involved in a street brawl near a nightclub with two men, at which teammate Alex Hales was also present.

[121] In September 2018, Stokes was charged with bringing the game into disrepute by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the incident in Bristol and social media posts.

[124] He later explained the combination of feeling let down over the ECB's handling of the Bristol nightclub incident, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the death of his father Ged Stokes in December 2020 due to brain cancer[125] had led him to suffer from anxiety and panic attacks.