Former England captains rings alarm bells over Ben Stokes’ future

Does Ben Stokes gradually become a burden for England? This has been a topic for discussion among the cricket experts during the ongoing England vs New Zealand Test at Lord’s. Only a few years ago, Stokes was considered one of the best all-rounders in the format, who had single-handedly won multiple matches for the England cricket team.

Against New Zealand, his struggles are visible both in batting and bowling. Two former England players, Michael Atherton and Mark Butcher, were in the discussion about the decline of Ben Stokes. Both nodded in agreement that it is not the same Ben Stokes the cricket world witnessed in the recent past.

Ben Stokes struggles continue in Tests

After the disastrous Ashes series in Australia, the ongoing 3-match Test series is nothing less than an acid test for the Three Lions. Behind the poor results in the Ashes, Stokes was one of the cricketers whose form was criticized heavily.

He went into action after enduring a good amount of break. In the meantime, he needed to work on his fitness and form. Still, he is nowhere near his peak. In the ongoing match, Stokes demoted himself in the batting order, came as the number 7 batter in both of the innings, after the emerging cricketer Jamie Smith. Stoke after Jamie Smith, something that definitely caught the eye, but on the wrong note.

It’s been a real decline- Michael Atheron

On the Lord’s pitch, where seamers have been enjoying their run, the England skipper so far remains wicketless. With the bat, he fetched only 12 and 0 in the first and second innings, respectively.

“It’s been a real decline… His demotion of himself down to number seven behind Jamie Smith is as much perhaps to do with him as it is to do with how highly they rate Jamie Smith,” Michael Atherton said on Sky Sports.

“Since being at number three in the world, so we’re talking it’s around about six, roughly six years between now and then, he’s played 60 test matches and nine matches in sort of a longer format, a red ball format, outside of that.”

Ben Stokes edges past his best long

Stokes is currently 35, has gone through multiple injury issues, and might have edged past his best gradually during the last few years. The former cricketers also point out that age could be a reason behind the star all-rounder’s lack of performance in recent days.

“As far as why, I mean, he doesn’t look to be any sort of different player, and as you get older, sometimes the reflexes slow down; his bowling has gone that way, and his batting has gone that way. Captaincy plays into that, you know, you’ll remember. He’s not played a lot of cricket outside, for a variety of reasons, injury and all kinds of things,” Mark Butcher said.

“It’s been a real decline… is it terminal?” 🤔
“He hasn’t played enough cricket!” 🏏

The Sky Sports pundits discuss Ben Stokes’ batting form & future as England captain. pic.twitter.com/iHCZu7QMa5

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 7, 2026

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