Ben Stokes Biography: Birthplace, Age, Nationality, Career Stats, Retirement and Family

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes Career Stats (Final International Figures)

Ben Stokes Biography

Ben Stokes is a former England cricketer and all-rounder. He was born on 4 June 1991 (age 35) in Christchurch, New Zealand, and moved to England as a child. He played for England from 2011 to 2026 and was England's Test captain from April 2022.

On 28 June 2026, during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, he announced his retirement from international cricket. He finished with 7,273 runs and 252 wickets in 122 Tests. He and Jacques Kallis are the only players with 7,000 runs and 250 wickets in Test cricket.

Stokes was a key part of England's 2019 ODI World Cup win and the 2022 T20 World Cup win. He holds the record for the most sixes in Test cricket, with 138, and the highest Test score by a number six batter, 258 against South Africa. In September 2026 he signed for the Adelaide Strikers for the 2026-27 Big Bash League.

Ben Stokes Early Life

Ben Stokes was born in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. He is a New Zealand-born English cricketer. His father, Gerard “Ged” Stokes, was a rugby league player and coach. His mother is Deb Stokes.

When Stokes was 12, the family moved to England after his father became coach of the Workington Town rugby league club in Cumbria. His parents later returned to New Zealand. His father died of brain cancer in December 2020.

In England he attended Cockermouth School and played his early cricket for Cockermouth Cricket Club.

Ben Stokes Personal Info

Ben Stokes is married to Clare Ratcliffe, his long-time partner. They married in East Brent, Somerset, in October 2017. They have two children: a son, Layton, born in 2012, and a daughter, Libby, born in 2015.

Ben Stokes Domestic Career

Ben Stokes made his debut for Durham in 2009 and played his county cricket for Durham throughout his career. He made his first-class debut for Durham against Marylebone Cricket Club.

Ben Stokes International Career

Stokes made his England debut in an ODI against Ireland on 25 August 2011. He scored three runs and did not bowl in that match. His T20 International debut came against West Indies in September 2011.

He made his Test debut against Australia at Adelaide on 5 December 2013, during the 2013-14 Ashes, and became England's 658th Test player. He scored his first Test century, 120, in the next Test at Perth.

Stokes was left out of England's squad for the 2015 World Cup. Later in 2015 he hit the fastest Test century at Lord's, from 85 balls, against New Zealand.

In January 2016 he scored 258 against South Africa in Cape Town. He reached 250 in 196 balls, the fastest Test 250 by balls faced, and shared a world-record sixth-wicket stand of 399 with Jonny Bairstow.

In the 2016 World T20 final against West Indies, Carlos Brathwaite hit Stokes for four sixes in a row in the last over, and West Indies won the title.

At the 2019 World Cup, Stokes scored 89 in the opening match against South Africa. In the final against New Zealand at Lord's he made 84 not out, the match was tied and England won after a Super Over. He was named Player of the Match. Weeks later he scored 135 not out to win the third Ashes Test at Headingley by one wicket.

Stokes retired from ODI cricket in July 2022 but returned for the 2023 World Cup. Before that tournament he scored 182 against New Zealand at The Oval, England's highest individual ODI score. In November 2022 he scored 52 not out in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan at the MCG as England won the title.

Ben Stokes IPL Career

Ben Stokes became the most expensive overseas player in IPL history at that time in 2017, when Rising Pune Supergiant bought him for ₹14.5 crore. That season he scored his maiden T20 century, 103 not out from 63 balls against Gujarat Lions, and was named the IPL's Most Valuable Player.

He then played for Rajasthan Royals from 2018 to 2021 and scored his second IPL century, 107 not out against Mumbai Indians, in 2020. Chennai Super Kings bought him for ₹16.25 crore at the auction in December 2022 for IPL 2023. In 45 IPL matches he scored 935 runs and took 28 wickets.

Ben Stokes Centuries

Ben Stokes finished his Test career with 14 centuries and 37 half-centuries. His highest Test score was 258 against South Africa in 2016. In ODIs he scored five centuries and 24 half-centuries, with a best of 182 against New Zealand in 2023. He also scored two IPL centuries.

Ben Stokes Achievements

1. Player of the Match in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand.
2. Winner of the 2022 T20 World Cup with England; he scored 52 not out in the final.
3. Most sixes in Test cricket: 138.
4. Fastest Test 250 by balls faced: 196 balls against South Africa in Cape Town in 2016.
5. Highest Test score by a number six batter: 258.
6. World-record sixth-wicket Test partnership of 399 with Jonny Bairstow against South Africa.
7. 11 sixes in a single Test innings, during his 258.
8. Second player after Jacques Kallis to reach 7,000 runs and 250 wickets in Tests.
9. BBC Sports Personality of the Year and ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year in 2019.
10. Appointed OBE in the 2020 New Year Honours.

Ben Stokes Controversy

In September 2017, Stokes was involved in a street fight outside a nightclub in Bristol. Team-mate Alex Hales was also present. Stokes missed the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia and later the second Test against India in 2018 because of the case.

Stokes told the court he had stepped in to stop homophobic abuse of two men. He was found not guilty of affray on 14 August 2018.

In June 2026, after the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's, Stokes and Gus Atkinson were left out of the second Test after breaking a team curfew on a night out in London. The ECB gave both a written warning and said Stokes was not involved in an altercation that night. The ECB gave both players a written warning for breaching their contracts. The Cricket Regulator said there was not enough evidence of any regulatory breach, and Stokes was recalled for the third Test.

Ben Stokes Captaincy and Retirement (2022-2026)

Stokes was named England Test captain in April 2022, after Joe Root stepped down, and worked with head coach Brendon McCullum. He had earlier led England as stand-in captain in one Test against West Indies in 2020.

England, captained by Stokes, lost the 2025-26 Ashes in Australia 4-1. Australia won the first three Tests, England won the fourth at Melbourne, and Australia won the fifth at Sydney by five wickets.

In the 2026 home series against New Zealand, England won the first Test at Lord's by 115 runs and lost the second at The Oval by 253 runs. On 28 June 2026, the fourth day of the third Test at Trent Bridge, Stokes told his team-mates it would be his last match for England. New Zealand won that Test by 160 runs on 29 June to take the series 2-1.

After retiring from international cricket, Stokes signed a one-year deal with the Adelaide Strikers for the 2026-27 Big Bash League. The club announced the signing on 1 September 2026. It is his first Big Bash stint since he played for the Melbourne Renegades in 2014-15.

Ben Stokes Social Media Presence

Ben Stokes posts on X (formerly Twitter) as @benstokes38.