How Ben Stokes became England’s Mr Nice Guy again – but still crushed New Zealand spirits along the way after Pakistan woes

Two days before England embarked on their now triumphant tour of New Zealand, their fans received the best news possible. Ben Stokes was back, both mentally and physically. And England will need both aspects to be fully operational if they are to have any chance of winning in Australia.

Stokes’ journey this winter has been a reflection of his team’s. He was unhappy in Pakistan, where he felt he let the team down by focusing too much on his own fitness, and where England, for the first time in their Test history, let a 1-0 lead slip away in a three-match series.

But his pre-Test disposition at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval suggested he had put the recent past behind him, including the traumatic robbery at his family home in Durham during the second Test in Multan.

And sure enough, Stokes’ improved mood in his native country has also taken a load off his players. In Pakistan, for the first time in his career, he could be seen shouting at them, an aberration for which he later apologized. In New Zealand, it’s been all smiles.

When Nathan Smith was caught in the leg on Sunday afternoon in Wellington, he laughed apologetically – the gesture of a man who was living Bazball’s mantra of not taking things too seriously, rather than simply preaching them. The figures of three for five were his best in Tests since July 2022.

Scores of 80 in four hours in Christchurch and a shot of 49 in Wellington hinted at a new flexibility at number 7, the position he should continue to occupy when Jamie Smith returns behind the stumps for England’s first Test in 2025 against Zimbabwe. at Trent Bridge in May.

Stokes has led his team to a 2-0 series lead (and victory) and they are looking for a cover-up.

His value to England’s Ashes hopes will soar if he can maintain form and fitness.

Stokes can duck while Harry Brook is on top of him, or Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse play their shots down low. Or he can have a run himself: after six balls of his second innings at the Basin Reserve, he scored 19, and New Zealand’s spirits were crushed.

If the idea of ​​Stokes playing Adam Gilchrist’s role at number 7 should give Australians pause, then his value to England’s Ashes hopes will soar if he stays fit enough to bowl 12 to 15 overs. per day.

Stokes said earlier this year that his presence as the team’s fourth closer gave him what seemed like several more options, meaning he could rotate his front-line quick three more effectively and had somewhere to go if the Shoaib Bashir’s breaks were not work.

Between his first full year as a Test cricketer in 2015 and the end of 2020, Stokes bowled an average of 21 overs per Test. The figure has since fallen to less than 12. Only 49 of his 207 wickets came in that time, while his last five came in 2017.

His continued fitness will be crucial for another reason. Starting next November in Perth, he may be the only member of the seam attack to play all five Ashes Tests and as such will be crucial in allowing the quickest ones (Carse, Mark Wood and possibly Jofra Archer) to rest. and turn. It is not the first time that he will have the key to England’s possibilities.

But his influence must extend beyond racing and grounds. Going into Friday night’s third test at Hamilton, he feels in charge of the team once again, following the injury-induced interregnum that left Ollie Pope in charge and Stokes an uncomfortable backseat driver.

His role in selecting Jacob Bethell at No. 3, undeterred by critics, was classic Stokes. The same goes for his criticisms, which contain a bit of truth and a bit of braggadocio, about the ICC World Test Championship and the excessive fee policy.

In Pakistan, he was too caught up in his own world to see what was happening around him. In New Zealand, his eyes seem to be wide open again. And he, like the team, enjoys every minute.