McCullum backs Stokes to rediscover form, considers batting order change
McCullum backed Ben Stokes to find his batting touch again, but England were weighing a drop to No. 7 after his Ashes slump and long injury layoff.
Brendon McCullum’s public backing of Ben Stokes came with a hard edge of selection reality. England’s head coach said the captain was “not too far away” from a return to batting form, yet he also said England were “more leaning towards” dropping Stokes to No. 7 and promoting Jamie Smith to No. 6 for the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s.
That debate was not driven by instinct alone. Stokes came out of England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia with 18.40 runs per innings and a strike rate of 36.58, even as he remained one of their most effective bowlers with 15 wickets at 25.13. McCullum said he and Stokes had had “robust conversations” and that it was “okay” for them to disagree, but he also insisted the captain still had the “burning desire” to contribute with bat, ball and in the field. England, he said, needed to “unlock him” again.
The problem for England is that the batting drought around their captain has become too long to ignore. Stokes had not scored a Test century since July 2023 at Lord’s, and over an injury-hit two-year period he managed 886 runs at 28.58. Since the start of 2024, he has averaged just 18 against spin, a weakness that has sharpened scrutiny over whether his all-round role is now pulling his batting output down.
Stokes has also spent much of the build-up fighting his body. He suffered a broken right cheekbone in February 2026 after being hit in the face by a ball in training, underwent major facial surgery and said the injury delayed his return by about a month. He had aimed for Durham County Championship appearances in May before the home summer, underlining how little uninterrupted time he had to rebuild rhythm before England faced New Zealand in London.
The wider stakes are clear. England entered the 2025/27 World Test Championship cycle seventh after 10 matches, with a points percentage of 31.67, still trying to absorb the damage from the Ashes thrashing and a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign. McCullum’s support suggests faith in Stokes’ resilience, but the proposed move down the order also acknowledges the bigger question facing England: how long can they wait for their captain’s batting to recover before it starts costing them again in the Tests that matter most?
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