Is Ben Stokes the best cricketer ever in the whole world?

[Flem274*]

tjb trashing other allrounders and baiting people into defending them in a thread celebrating stokes (who he also whined about being lucky)? colour me shocked

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Last 2 years

CDG batting ave - 46.46, bowling ave 34.74
Stokes batting ave - 37.00, bowling ave 25.74
Holder batting ave - 39.65, bowling ave 18.66
Jadeja batting ave - 45.33, bowling ave 25.53
Ashwin batting ave - 17.15, bowling ave 26.46
Shakib batting ave - 29.81, bowling ave 20.65

 

[GIMH]

The image of Stokes with his arms aloft while the crowd erupts will go down as one of the iconic cricketing images

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Last 2 years

CDG batting ave - 46.46, bowling ave 34.74
Stokes batting ave - 37.00, bowling ave 25.74
Holder batting ave - 39.65, bowling ave 18.66
Jadeja batting ave - 45.33, bowling ave 25.53
Ashwin batting ave - 17.15, bowling ave 26.46
Shakib batting ave - 29.81, bowling ave 20.65

They all have superb numbers

 

[Flem274*]

looking forward to seeing the full highlights of stokes tonight. scary cricketer, one of a few in the world who could show up in like a zimbabwean eleven and you'd still be very concerned he could win the game by himself.

 

[Howe_zat]

Apart from India which other teams wouldn't he make?

would bat 3 for both sides in the Ashes atm tbh

Despite his batting going well now I don't think Colin would have gotten a fair shake for England. With Stokes established first he'd probably be competing with Woakes and Curran, and only get a few games when they're messing about with the balance of the side. That tends to happen in Asia which wouldn't suit him at all, so I think he would be wasted in England colours.

 

[morgieb]

I think he's the most clutch cricketer worldwide, at least as things stand. Seems to the one player that actually does better when the going gets tough and has a iron-willed desire to win. You have to admire that in cricketers.

I'd say it's very un-English of him but it is a common trait in their all-rounders.

 

[Daemon]

Last 2 years

CDG batting ave - 46.46, bowling ave 34.74
Stokes batting ave - 37.00, bowling ave 25.74
Holder batting ave - 39.65, bowling ave 18.66
Jadeja batting ave - 45.33, bowling ave 25.53
Ashwin batting ave - 17.15, bowling ave 26.46
Shakib batting ave - 29.81, bowling ave 20.65

Not good enough from Ashwin. Pandya more of an AR averaging 31 in each discipline.

 

[Slifer]

Sigh. I've been seeing this same overblown hype mess on YouTube as well. Excellent and a great couple of innings but stokes overall is an ok all rounder. I do however think he has the most potential of all current ar to be an atg like Miller, imran or pollock. Stokes imo is good enough to average 40+ with the bat and between 25 to 30 with the ball.

 

[Howe_zat]

He has been doing that over the last few years tbf.

Since the start of 2016:

35 tests, 2481 runs at 41, 6 tons, 89 wickets at 28, 2 five-fors.

Granted, that batting average was starting to look a bit pale before this series.

 

[marc71178]

Despite his batting going well now I don't think Colin would have gotten a fair shake for England. With Stokes established first he'd probably be competing with Woakes and Curran, and only get a few games when they're messing about with the balance of the side. That tends to happen in Asia which wouldn't suit him at all, so I think he would be wasted in England colours.

Not to mention his bowling being extremely meh.

 

[Flem274*]

Not to mention his bowling being extremely meh.

since stokes has lost his radar a bit cdg is the best 5th bowler in the world, and it was close before that despite stokes clearly having more bowling talent.

cdg is extremely good if you judge a bowler by more than 'right arm medium'. can be used as a genuine opening bowler and to provide control when nothing is happening.

 

[Flem274*]

as to whether stokes will be a great allrounder, yeah he's going to get there. he truly embodies the spirit of the heroic allrounder. the anti-james franklin or mitch marsh.

 

[Bahnz]

Im wondering what we'd all be saying today if he'd top edged that and skied it Paine. He would have been absolutely crucified for playing such a shot in the circumstances, but as it is he is a hero to a nation........funny old game innit.

Yeah, it's incredible to watch on the highlights real, but I can't help but think it's a really ****ing dumb shot to play when he was middling his orthodox shots so beautifully. I don't see any reason why he should look to play it besides "Ah **** it, we'll probably lose anyway so lets have some fun."

 

[Bahnz]

So De Grandhomme averages 40 with the bat and 30 with the ball and he's still not rated?!

Love CdG, but he's played 14 of his 18 tests at home, and the majority of those have been against cack opponents. We'll be better able to talk about his place amonst the game's current allrounders after this summer.

 

[Bahnz]

 

[Bahnz]

since stokes has lost his radar a bit cdg is the best 5th bowler in the world, and it was close before that despite stokes clearly having more bowling talent.

cdg is extremely good if you judge a bowler by more than 'right arm medium'. can be used as a genuine opening bowler and to provide control when nothing is happening.

Nah, Colin may be a good fit for New Zealand's current team makeup, but he's not a better bowler. NZ has a better 1st change option in Wagner than anyone England has (though that will change once Anderson is fit). Therefore, all NZ need from a 5th bowler is someone who can keep it tight for 10-15 overs a day while the seam trio are rested and pick up the odd wicket with the newish ball. England, on the other hand, have needed a genuine wicket-taker to pick up the slack left by Woakes/Wood et al. I don't think Colin's bowling would be of that much use to England tbh (though I think Colin would be tricky to face if he was ever given a Duke to bowl with on a seaming deck). At the end of the day in test cricket, bowling strike rate matters more than average and Stokes picks up a wicket on average every 10 overs to Colin's 14.

 

[nightprowler10]

The image of Stokes with his arms aloft while the crowd erupts will go down as one of the iconic cricketing images

The better image to me was him watching one of his straight sixes sail just over the fielder like a golfer bent over, with the crowd watching in the background.

 

[Daemon]

The better image to me was him watching one of his straight sixes sail just over the fielder like a golfer bent over, with the crowd watching in the background.

Oh yeah that was brilliant. The last six straight down the ground against Lyon iirc.

Then in the next frame the crowd goes wild and he just looks down at the ground with a sense of relief as he tries to focus on the next ball. Great footage.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

The still shot of him not watching what was happening when Jack Leach was facing was pretty iconic. Until it got down to two needed he just didn't watch.