Abhishek AB@ABsay_ek
Ben Stokes is doing that slightly unglamorous captain thing in this Ashes. The bit that rarely shows up neatly in the results column...
He bowled 19 overs, then walked out to bat in 17th over today & then he stayed there for two full sessions. It felt less like a batting innings & more like a statement of intent(or lack of?) delivered with tired legs...
Across this Ashes, Stokes has already faced 373 balls. That’s more than anyone else from either side. No one has crossed 300 except him. For a side built on Bazball momentum & tempo, that number matters. It shows a captain willing to absorb pressure, not just dish it out...
Here’s the part that really lands. Stokes alone has faced 21.6 percent of all deliveries bowled at England in this series. Add Joe Root into the mix & two of them account for 38.4 percent of England’s total balls faced...
And this isn’t happening in isolation from the ball. Stokes has bowled 51 overs in this series as well. In 2025, he is England’s leading wicket taker with 28 wickets at 24.57 average...
The runs may not yet scream Ashes-defining. But leadership isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like fatigue, time at the crease & a captain quietly deciding that if someone has to take the hit, it might as well be him...
