England captain Ben Stokes has been named as the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year for 2022.
The 31-year-old, who captained England to 9 wins off 10 Tests in the year, was pivotal to the team’s success with the bat as well as ball. He scored 870 runs at an average of 36.25, while also picking 26 wickets at an average of 31.19.
Stokes took over as England captain after a dismal start to the year for the red ball side and under his captaincy and with Brendon McCullum as the Test coach, England took to a more aggressive and going for the win approach in Tests, coined after the latter as ‘Bazball’.
Leading from the front 🌟
England’s inspirational captain is the recipient of the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year 2022 Award 🏅#ICCAwards
— ICC (@ICC) January 26, 2023
Under his regime, England thrashed New Zealand and South Africa at home, hammered India in a one-off Test in Southampton before travelling to Pakistan and winning the three-match series.
England’s scoring rate of 4.13 across 15 Tests in 2022 was the second highest in history and the most since Australia in 1910. Those stats include the away defeat to West Indies and the end of the Ashes loss under Joe Root. In the matches in which Stokes led England, the team struck at a game-changing 4.77 per over.
Stokes was also named captain of the 2022 ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year.