England captain Ben Stokes’ lean patch with the bat in Test cricket continues as he was knocked over for only 15 runs in England’s first innings of the ongoing ENG vs NZ 3rd Test at Trent Bridge.
Stokes had made a great hurrah on the first two days of the Nottingham Test, shining for his side with the ball. He returned after being suspended from the second Test owing to his involvement in the Chelsea nightclub incident following the victory in the 1st Test at Lord’s.
Stokes had come out a man bristling with energy and gravitas as he led England’s fightback with the ball with figures of 4/70 as the Kiwis slipped from 317/0 to 438 all-out, giving England a sniff back into the game.
In England’s reply, Ben Duckett plundered a century, scoring 113 runs off 99 balls, and Harry Brook has reached his half-century off 66 balls on the stroke of the lunch break on day 3.
The hosts, though, would have wanted more runs from their captain than the mere 15 he managed before being castled by pacer Zakary Foulkes, who has kept tight and tidy lines and lengths for his figures of 10-2-24-1 ahead of the break.
ENG vs NZ: [Video] Ben Stokes Gets Bowled By Zakary Foulkes, Gives ‘Unplayable Ball’ Reaction
Stokes is infamous for providing a reaction that he’d received an unplayable ball almost every time he gets bowled. He would stare into oblivion after being bowled and would also inspect the pitch and have a good look at it. He would shake his head vigorously as if lamenting his bad luck for being on the receiving end of such jaffa deliveries so often. In truth, most of those balls would be simply straighter deliveries that would nip a bit in or out.
The same was the case with the Foulkes delivery today – a scrambled seam ball delivered from around the wicket angle. The ball pitched on length and zipped back in sharply.
Stokes’ feet moved little, perhaps because of the keeper being up at the stumps, as he played a nothing shot. The ball seamed into him, beat him on the inside edge, and rattled into the off stump.
As the Foulkes and the New Zealand players celebrated, Ben Stokes had a look at the pitch with a wry smile on his face before he began his long walk back to the dressing room.
Watch the video here:
Stokes’ batting form has been a concern in recent times. Since the start of 2024, he has scored 1126 in 44 innings, with only one century and seven fifties to his name.
Among the 29 batsmen who have played at least 35 Test innings in this period, Ben Stokes’ average of 26.8 is the 7th worst; among the six players with a poorer batting average than Stokes, only one, Alick Athanaze, is a proper batsman, with the rest being Starc, Seales, Bashir, Bumrah, and Siraj. The England captain’s batting stocks are at an all-time low.
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
