Are Ben Stokes the best captain of Test cricket?

Samira Vishwas

Tezzbuzz|30-07-2025

Main point:

Ever since this English player took command of the team, the England team has been playing great cricket continuously. It has a tremendous impact of Ben Stokes captaincy.

Delhi: When we talk about great captains in Test cricket history, one to one of the players is included in this list. Among the best captains of world cricket, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting to Steve Waugh, as well as former South African batsman Graeme Smith has been included. Along with these veterans, former India captain Virat Kohli and the great West Indies player Clive Lloyd are also kept.

England has tremendous impact in Test under the captaincy of Ben Stokes

Apart from these, there have been many legend captains in world cricket. In which now another player is slowly engaged in establishing his place. We are talking about England star all -rounder and Test captain Ben Stokes here. Ever since this English player took command of the team, the England team has been playing great cricket continuously. It has a tremendous impact of Ben Stokes captaincy.

Ben Stokes has left a special impression with his captaincy skills

England is currently known for playing with his special badge style. Bazball, from the beginning, the strategy to create awe in the opposing team by batting in a rapid style has been seen under the captaincy of Ben Stokes. Ever since the Tests for England have become the pair of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brandon McCullum, the English team has left a lot of impact with the dreaded batting.

Regular Test captain became Stokes in 2022

Ben Stokes first landed in 2020 for his national team in 2020. Then he got a chance to lead the team against the West Indies when the immediate captain Joe Root was engaged. He then captained 2 Tests. However, after this, the England and Wales Cricket Board appointed Ben Stokes as the new captain after announcing the resignation of Joe Root in the Test. In 2022, Stokes became the Permanent Test captain of the English team.

Ben Stokes has won 22 matches in 37 Tests

After this, England performed the best game. Initially, the English team won 11 out of 13 Test matches in Stokes’ leadership. A separate strategy was proving to be effective for this team. After this, England suffered defeat in some Test matches. But so far, under the captaincy of Stokes, the English team has won 22 in 37 Tests, while they have lost 13 matches and 2 matches ended on par. That is, the winning percentage is 62.85 under the captaincy of Stokes.

Can Stokes be considered the best Test captain,

Ben Stokes has proved to be a tremendous captain for England in Test cricket. Along with his decisions in the field, he has burnt the mantra of Badball in the batting unit, he is doing a lot of work. In Stokes’ captivity, England batsmen are seen in a different form, as well as in attacking mode during their bowling and fielding. Not only this, Stokes himself also gives full life in bowling, batting and fielding.

Ben Stokes has also been the best as an all -rounder under captaincy

As captain, this English captain has scored 2060 runs in 37 matches with a brilliant batting average of 35.51. During this time he has also scored 3 centuries. Not only this, he has also taken 62 wickets under his captaincy. There are 30 catches during fielding. Stokes is proving to be the best wicket for England in the current Test series against India. He also scored 141 runs after taking 5 wickets in Manchester. He is handling his responsibility as captain.

With this style, he can be considered the best captain of this time. However, can Stokes be considered the best captain in Test cricket history or not? Let’s make full analysis in this article.

English veteran cannot be considered the best Test captain

When we talk about the most brilliant captain in Test cricket history, Ben Stokes is left behind in it. He has definitely performed tremendously under his captaincy. The effect of his captivity has also been excellent. However, one to one veteran has been the captain in the Test. Former great captain of the Kangaroo team, Steve Waugh, has won 41 in 57 matches and lost only 9 matches, the percentage of victory was 82. Apart from this, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting established a different domination as a captain in the Test. He won 48 matches in 77 matches. He has won 75 percent. So at the same time, former India captain Virat Kohli has won 40 matches in 68 matches. His winning percentage has been around 70. Apart from this, Clive Lloyd of West Indies also won 36 matches in 74 matches and lost only 12 matches. He too managed to win his team 75 percent of the matches. South Africa’s Graeme Smith has won the highest 53 matches. He also won 64.69 percent matches. Talking about Ben Stokes, he has 62.85 winning percentage.

conclusion, If you look at the figures of over all test captaincy, then it would be wrong if Ben Stokes is considered the best captain from now on. He has been a great captain in Test cricket history. Which has a very impressive record. Stokes is 34 years old at this time. The way he is a cricketer and has been troubled by injury many times, at most 3 to 4 years of career can be considered for him. In this time, how much time does he give himself for captaincy and how does the team perform under his captaincy? It will be interesting to see but, as the best captain, it will be difficult to establish themselves.