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Williamson takes 'outstanding' catch as Stokes goes for 12

England captain Ben Stokes' batting is "not too far away" from a return to form, says head coach Brendon McCullum. Stokes returned scores of 12 and nought in England's first-Test win over New Zealand, but was not alone in struggling for runs on a Lord's surface that made batting a challenge. The all-rounder averaged 18 during England's Ashes series defeat and dropped down the order one place to number seven for the first Test against the Black Caps, swapping positions with wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.

"I feel like his fluency is starting to come back," said McCullum. "It would have been great if he had been able to get instant gratification with runs in this match. It didn't happen, but I'm pretty confident we'll see some runs and output in the Tests to come." Remarkable Tongue is England's premier bowler - Agnew Lord's pitch does not benefit Test format - Stokes.

Stokes made his first Test century in two years against India at Old Trafford last summer, only to then miss the final Test because of a shoulder injury. As England struggled during the Ashes, Stokes' batting became increasingly attritional, as if the captain was demonstrating the fight he wanted from his team-mates. An Ashes strike-rate of 36.58 was Stokes' slowest rate of run-scoring in any series when he has played more than two Tests.

One issue Stokes has when it comes to finding a rhythm to his batting is a lack of cricket outside playing for England. He has not played any sort of white-ball cricket since the 2024 season of The Hundred. The two County Championship matches he played for Durham in May were also his first in two years, after the start to his season was delayed by the recovery from a broken cheek. Asked about his batting after the win at Lord's, Stokes told Test Match Special: "We just won our first Test match of the summer, so that's where I'm going to concentrate at the moment."

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Highlights: Atkinson bowls England to 115-run victory over NZ Stokes turned 35 on the first day of the Lord's Test, his 43rd in charge of England. If he stays fit for the next 18 months, the Durham man could lead in another 17 Tests up to the end of the next Ashes, putting him on 60 as captain. Joe Root holds the record for most Tests as England skipper, with 64.

Captains often experience a downturn in output the longer they spend in the post, with the pressures of the job a distraction from their own game. Stokes, whose workload as an all-rounder is considerable, explained that the move down to number seven was partly to ease the burden on his shoulders. Stokes' batting average as captain is worse than when he was in the ranks - 32 as skipper compared to almost 36 when not. However, Stokes' bowling average is much better when he is leading England - taking his wickets at 28 apiece as captain, opposed to nearly 33 when not.

Discussing how a coach is able to approach offering advice to Stokes, New Zealander McCullum said: "Stokesy has conviction in what he believes. He's very rational. He only trusts a certain amount of people, which is no bad thing in life. If you're able to make valid points, then he is very rational in being able to take those on board. He's good. He's doing some great work. I genuinely think his batting is going to get some decent positives in the next little while. I feel like he's not too far away."

Compared to his England Test team-mates, Stokes' absence from white-ball cricket is unusual. After the three-Test series against New Zealand concludes, some of the Test team will head to play in the white-ball series against India, which is followed by The Hundred. But Stokes has not been in England's white-ball plans since 2023 and does not have a team in The Hundred. After the series against New Zealand ends, there is no opportunity for Stokes to play in the Championship for Durham before another three-Test series against Pakistan begins in August. Durham head coach Ryan Campbell has suggested Stokes could play for the county in the One-Day Cup, which runs alongside The Hundred.

"I'm confident with the work he's been doing," said McCullum. "I feel like he's moving a lot better. Sometimes when you don't play a lot of cricket - and we're all guilty of it - in the pursuit of improvement, we can sometimes become rigid or robotic. That's just what us cricketers do. Number seven is quite a nice role for him. With his experience and cricketing nous, he's able to operate and guide the tail quite nicely, plus he's got the raw power if need be to score if you're eight or nine wickets down. And he's still got the opportunity to bat with a batter, too."

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