When was the last time Ben Stokes bowled for England?
England Test captain Ben Stokes is among the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket. The New Zealand-born player has helped England win many matches with his all-round brilliance. He has also done a great job for Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL in the past.
In the last few years, Stokes has not bowled much due to injury issues. The all-rounder missed a majority of the IPL 2023 matches during his stint with Chennai Super Kings because of a knee injury. He even played as a pure batter for England in the 2023 ODI World Cup for the same reason.
In the ongoing ICC World Test Championship series between India and England, Ben Stokes has not bowled a single over even though his bowlers have struggled to keep the Indian batters under control. The right-arm pacer has been rolling his arm over in the nets, but he has not grabbed the ball to bowl a few overs in the middle during the Test matches.
Stokes had surgery on his left knee after the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, which forced him to play as a pure batter in the first three Tests of the WTC series against India.
Speaking with TNT Sports after the third Test, Stokes answered the question of whether he would bowl in the last two Tests of the series.
"I like to jump the gun a little bit but things are feeling really good. I'm not saying yes, I'm not saying no," he said.
It has been a long time since Stokes bowled a delivery for the England team. In this article now, we will look at the last time Stokes bowled for his team in all three formats.
#1 Ben Stokes' last spell in Tests - 1/26 vs Australia, June 2023
Stokes bowled his last Test spell during the Ashes series against Australia in June 2023. It was during the Lord's Test of the series. Stokes bowled a total of 15 overs in two innings, three in the first innings and 12 in the second.
He returned with figures of 0/21 in the first innings, but in the second innings, he conceded only 26 runs in 12 overs and also picked up the wicket of Josh Hazlewood. His efforts ended in a losing cause as Australia won that Test by 43 runs.
#2 Ben Stokes' last spell in ODIs - 0/44 vs South Africa, July 19, 2022
Stokes announced retirement from ODI cricket in July 2022 before taking a U-turn just before the 2023 ODI World Cup. The all-rounder did not bowl a single over after reversing his ODI retirement though.
His last ODI spell came against South Africa at the Riverside Ground. The right-arm pacer bowled five wicketless overs, leaking 44 runs. The Proteas won that contest by 62 runs.
#3 Ben Stokes' last spell in T20Is - 1/32 vs Pakistan, November 13, 2022
Stokes bowled his last T20I spell in the T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The England all-rounder went for 32 runs in his four overs, but he managed to take the important wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed.
It looks like the next time Ben Stokes bowls an over for England in T20Is will be during the T20 World Cup 2024 only. England will play their first T20 World Cup match against Scotland on June 4.