Ben Stokes is now one shy of Ian Botham’s total of Player of the Match awards, his latest coming at a crucial juncture of the England-India series at Lord’s. We’ve ranked all 11 of his POTM Test awards from least to most inspiring.
To get ahead of some of the discourse, this is a subjective list based on loose criteria. Factors taken into consideration were all-round performance, impact, quality of opposition and the context of the match. Although, as ever with England’s one-man-band miracle worker, there’s a hefty element of vibe thrown in. And, as sums up Stokes' impact, nine of his 11 Player of the Match performances came with England needing something, having been beaten in their previous Test.
Here is the list in ascending order.
11. Australia, Lord’s, 2019
1st innings: 13 (22), 0-17
2nd innings: 115 (165), 0-16
The lesser remembered of Stokes’ 2019 Ashes mirabilis comes in bottom. With the first day washed out, forcing a result was a challenge, and these were the days of ‘we’ll take a draw’. Nevertheless, after being part of the regular first-innings collapse, Stokes went on to score a century in the second innings to set up a declaration. It was Jofra Archer and Jack Leach, however, who took England to within four wickets of sealing a remarkable win, which if they’d pulled it off might have bumped this game up the list.
10. South Africa, The Oval, 2017
1st innings: 112 (153), 1-26
2nd innings: 31 (38), 2-51
Moeen Ali took a hat-trick to win the match but had to cede the POTM award to Stokes for his rescue-act first innings century. After slipping to 120-4, partnerships with Alastair Cook and Jonny Bairstow meant Stokes got England to par which, against South Africa that summer, was plenty. A strong performance amid a team collective.
9. South Africa, Old Trafford, 2022
1st innings: 2-17, 103 (163)
2nd innings: 2-30
In the lesser half of the first Bazball summer, and coming off their first stumble of the era, Stokes stamped his mark emphatically back over the series. After helping to inflict a first-innings collapse with two wickets, he blazed a century in a big stand with Ben Foakes, and then bludgeoned away again with the ball in a marathon spell. A classic of the ‘I’ll do everything myself then’ genre.
8. West Indies, Lord’s, 2017
1st innings: 6-22, 60 (74)
2nd innings: 0-41
After falling to a dark place with the Shai Hope-inflicted defeat in the Test before, Stokes ripped through West Indies with a career-best six-for within 15 overs, bowling unchanged, before Tea on Day One. For good measure, he whacked 60 off 74 the following day – more than the rest of England’s top-order combined. It was only when James Anderson came alive in the third innings that Stokes suddenly had a team, rather than video game styling it through all the controls.
7. South Africa, Newlands, 2016
1st innings: 258 (198), 1-100
2nd innings: 26 (34)
This one might be the most controversial. It’s one of Stokes’ most iconic images, set against the backdrop of Table Mountain while he plays one of the most extraordinary knocks seen in an England shirt. But, while it will be remembered better than most others on this list, by our own criteria, the match was destined for a draw, England never got close to winning it, and it was his only – albeit substantial – contribution to the game. A heavy tick for the vibes box though.
6. India, Lord’s, 2025
1st innings: 44 (110), 2-63
2nd innings: 33 (96), 3-48
Context is the key for this most recent entrant. Against one of the toughest oppositions in the world, having lost the previous Test convincingly and at a crucial point of the series, Stokes’ true importance in a nail-biting win is hidden in his figures. Out of nick with the bat, that he scratched around for 40-odd facing Jasprit Bumrah on day one gains more importance when looking at the winning margin of 22. He also took two wickets out of nowhere in India’s first innings, and struck twice on the evening of the fourth day to leave just enough time to take the remaining wickets on day five.
5. South Africa, Newlands, 2020
1st innings: 47 (77), 0-34
2nd innings: 72 (47), 3-35
Four years on, and Stokes actually outdid his first Newlands epic in several aspects. With far less runs to be scored on the surface, his 47 in the first innings was crucial, and the 72 off 47 in the second innings even more so, setting up a perfect declaration for England to go on to win the match. Of course, he also took three wickets in as many overs to end the game just as South Africa looked poised to snatch a draw.
4. West Indies, Old Trafford, 2020
1st innings: 176 (356), 1-29
2nd innings: 78* (57), 2-30
Reeling off the back of losing his first match in charge of the side, always beware a wounded Stokes. Two innings showed off the full range of Stokes the Test batter; a gritty 176 off 356, in competition with Dom Sibley for who could go slowest in their 260-run partnership, and then a bull-dozing 78 off 57, promoted to open the batting and hunt a quick declaration. He would reach a career-high third in the ICC Test batting rankings after the game. Chuck in three wickets and it was a consummate all-round performance.
3. Bangladesh, Chittagong, 2016
1st innings: 18 (34), 4-26
2nd innings: 85 (151), 2-20
After bending his back and using every ounce of bounce, reverse swing and brute force to secure England a small first innings lead, Stokes then ground away in the dirt as wickets fell around him. He eventually fell for 85, one of only two who scored more than 20, to give England 286 to bowl at. While Gareth Batty and Moeen Ali spun away to do the bulk of the work, Stokes had the final say on the final morning, pinning both Taijul and Shafiul Islam lbw within three balls to take the match by 22 runs.
2. New Zealand, Lord’s, 2015
1st innings: 92 (94), 0-105
2nd innings: 101 (92), 3-38
The first true Stokes’ masterclass still ranks as up there with his best a decade later. In the first innings he came in at 30-4, smacked Boult and Southee around and blitzed his way to a near run-a-ball 92, as part of a young middle-order of white-ball trailblazers. The early part of his and McCullum’s relationship was less bromance and more akin to lions circling, both tearing lumps out of each other with the bat. Having fallen short in the first innings, Stokes got to a remarkable hundred in the second innings, the fastest ever in a Lord's Test, powering England to a defendable lead having conceded a 134-run first innings deficit. Perhaps this was actually Bazball’s first glimmer.
1. Australia, Headingley, 2019
1st innings: 1-45, 8 (13)
2nd innings: 3-56, 135* (219)
There couldn’t be anything else at the top. A miracle, the impossible, nothing short of heart-stopping, odds-compounding mayhem. You’ll know the story too well - though don't sleep on the body-bursting three-for to keep England's chase within limits - neither do the iconic words that accompanied it but we’ll finish with those anyway. “What an innings, what a player. Take a bow, Ben Stokes.”
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