Ben Stokes wins the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year 2022 Award

Ben Stokes has been named ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year 2022 for his brilliant all-round performances and exceptional leadership.

If we talk about remarkable turnarounds, then the England Test team comes to mind. In particular, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have changed how Test cricket is seen and played. They have introduced a brand of cricket that wasn’t known in red-ball cricket before. 

Before Stokes took over as captain, England had won only one of their last 17 Test matches. After the introduction of Stokes as captain, they won 9 out of 10, losing only one game to South Africa. His team selection, bowling rotations, field placements, and game plans have been unparalleled.

Firstly, they defeated India in the one-off Test match that was postponed before, to draw the series 2-2. Secondly, they got the better of South Africa at home (2-1) and whitewashed New Zealand (3-0). 

However, the spotlight of England’s Test year was their clean-sweep over Pakistan away from home. The team played with a run rate of over 5 throughout the series as records fell. 

Overall, Ben Stokes made 870 runs and took 26 wickets at averages of 36.25 and 31.19, respectively. His highlight with the bat was his century in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa. And in the same series, he took 10 wickets at 15.70. 

Ben Stokes Test Cricket Stats in 2022

• Matches: 15
• Runs: 870
• Batting Average: 36.25
• Batting Strike Rate: 71.54
• Fifties: 4
• Hundreds: 2
• Wickets: 26
• Bowling Average: 31.19
• Bowling Strike Rate: 64.2

Stokes didn’t only win the Test Cricketer of the Year award for 2022, but he was also the captain of the ICC Men’s Test team of the Year.

People are highly rating Stokes as a captain and Bazball as the way to keep Test cricket alive. England has succeeded in playing this way. The numbers don’t lie. However, I believe their real test will be against Australia in the Ashes this year, starting in June.