On September 26, 2017, a specific news story caught every cricket fan's eye: Ben Stokes was arrested. Ben Stokes was arrested after getting into an altercation with two men outside a nightclub in Bristol.

He had to spend a night behind bars for this incident. Soon, police released him from prison without any charge. Stokes was then the vice captain of the England cricket team. On that night, another England cricket star, Alex Hales, was also with them on the spot. The England and Wales Cricket Board took the matter seriously and suspended both of the cricketers for one match.

England was then engaged in a limited-over series with the West Indies; Stokes was in good form, but that incident caused him to be suspended for a match. Both Stokes and Hales were punished by the cricket board for the off-the-field incident.

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Ben Stokes had to spend a night in prison 

Later, police confirmed the incident and their actions against a 26-year-old man for suspicious activity. The altercation was perhaps wild; Stokes reportedly injured his hand, and another man was taken to hospital with facial injuries. According to laws there, these types of incidents could result in a maximum of 5 years in prison. It was fortunate for Stokes that he did not have to face the situation. Hales later reached out to the police to help in their investigation. 

Disclosing the series of incidents, ECB in their statement said, "Ben Stokes and Alex Hales will not be available for tomorrow's one-day international match against West Indies at The Oval. Stokes was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning, 25 September, following an incident in Bristol. He was held overnight and released under investigation—without charge—late on Monday and will not join the team in London. Hales, who was with Stokes on Sunday night, did not train this morning and has returned voluntarily to Bristol today to help police with their inquiries."

England has officially announced its 16-player squad for the Ashes 2025-26 series against Australia later this year, captained by Ben Stokes and hoping to end a long wait as the first England side to win an Ashes series on Australian soil since 2010-11.

The squad features several familiar names but also a pair of surprises. Stokes, Mark Wood, and Shoaib Bashir are fit again after injury, bolstering the batting and bowling departments in particular. The biggest change is Harry Brook being named vice-captain ahead of Ollie Pope. Pope stepped in as skipper in place of Stokes during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy when Stokes was injured, but has not retained the deputy position. Instead, he is likely to fight Jacob Bethell for the significant No. 3 batting position.

England announce strong 16-member squad for Ashes 2025-26

Will Jacks, the unexpected addition to the squad, is regarded as a smart tactical option, possibly in the role that Liam Dawson filled against India when Bashir was unavailable. That said, it also raises the question of whether England will be selective about Bashir, given the specialist spinning role in Australian conditions. 

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In terms of bowling, England is loaded with pace bowlers. Mark Wood returns to offer real pace, and alongside him are Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson, and Josh Tongue. This body of pace attack seems to have performed well in the series against India, but importantly, they will have to adapt to the pitches of Australia. Matthew Potts, also a member of the squad, offers England more options in seamers.

Batting remains sound with Joe Root, Zak Crawley, and Ben Duckett as the nucleus of the top order, with Jamie Smith also an option as a keeper and batsman. Furthermore, with Ben Stokes at the helm, England will certainly be seeking to turn history on its head and retain the urn.

England squad for Ashes 2025-26:

Ben Stokes (captain), Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood

The roar of Ben Stokes perhaps will never fade away. On August 25, 2019, Stokes accomplished an utmost difficult task to snatch a win in Leeds against their arch rivals, Australia. From losing all wickets for 67 runs in the first innings to then successfully chasing down a target of 359 in the final innings, these all happened in the match. The match will be remembered for ages because of Ben Stokes' heroics. 

Australian bowlers stunned the entire cricket nation when they folded England's first innings for only 67 runs in the first innings. Joe Denly (12) was the only batter for England who got an individual double-digit run in the innings. Josh Hazlewood got 5 wickets, 3 wickets for Pat Cummins, and a brace for James Pattinson.

The fresh track of Leeds heavily tested the Australian batting lineup too. Before England's batting collapse, Australia, in their first innings, registered only 179 for wickets. England's 10 wickets falling for 67 allowed Australia to take a healthy lead to claim the match. The track was still helping the pacers but started to decrease gradually as it was getting old. In the second innings, Marnus Labuschagne scored 80 runs, and multiple notable innings from his teammates took Australia to 246 before the dismissal of the 10th wicket. With those 246 runs and the first-innings lead, England got a target of 359 to win the match, which seemed beyond their reach at that point. 

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The echoing roar by Stokes 

After losing their openers early, then the captain of England, Joe Root, and Joe Denly got 77- and 55-run innings, respectively. Jonny Bairstow went for 36. After that, the matter went on the shoulders of Stokes. He faced 219 balls, watched other batters come and go, with a pair of tired legs, and scored a historic 135-run inning. The number 11 batter, Jack Leach, was somehow able to hang on with Stokes and face 17 balls.

In the meantime, Nathan Lyon missed an easy chance to run out Leach; if he managed to hit the bail, the match would be over, and Australia could win the match. But, it was the day for Stokes and England; despite all the endeavors, they emerged victorious with Ben Stokes as the best player of the match.

Ben Stokes has been appointed as the mentor of the Northern Superchargers for the remainder of The Hundred Men’s 2025 season. Currently recovering from a left shoulder injury sustained during the recent England-India Test series, Stokes was ruled out of the 100-ball tournament even before it began in February. The decision to rest him was part of a broader workload management plan, with the Ashes in Australia scheduled later this year. Despite being sidelined, the English Test captain remains involved with the team in a non-playing capacity.

Although the injury would have kept him out regardless, the announcement of his absence had already been made to prioritize his recovery. The 34-year-old will now support the Northern Superchargers' coaching staff, which is led by former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. Stokes' presence in the dugout is expected to provide valuable guidance and motivation to the players. His extensive experience in high-pressure situations will be an asset as the Superchargers aim to build momentum this season.

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Stokes has represented the Northern Superchargers briefly, playing two games in 2021 and three in 2024. His 2024 campaign was cut short due to a serious hamstring injury that sidelined him for the rest of the summer, including key Test series where Ollie Pope took over captaincy duties. As of now, the Superchargers have made a winning start to their 2025 season, defeating Welsh Fire by eight wickets. Zak Crawley starred with an unbeaten 67 and some sharp fielding, earning him the Player of the Match award.

England and India draw series 2-2

Ben Stokes had a commendable outing in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, delivering strong performances both as a captain and a player. He played a crucial role with the bat, stepping up during challenging situations to stabilize England’s innings on multiple occasions. With the ball, Stokes showed great endurance, bowling extended spells to support the pace attack. His all-round contribution was vital in keeping England competitive throughout the series. Stokes demonstrated his leadership skills under pressure, guiding his team effectively in closely fought encounters.

In total, Stokes scored 304 runs across seven innings and picked up 17 wickets in eight innings, showcasing his value as a premier all-rounder. His ability to contribute consistently with both bat and ball highlighted his significance in the team. However, he was rested for the final Test at The Oval to manage his workload. England went on to lose that match by just six runs, underlining how much they missed his presence in a closely contested series finale.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed three nominees for the Men’s Player of the Month award for July 2025. India’s impressive captain and two stylish all-rounders from England and South Africa have made it into the nominations after their exceptional performances in the longest format in July 2025.

Shubman Gill, from India, smashed 567 runs at an average of 94.50 in three Tests during India’s 2-2 drawn series in England. He smashed a record-breaking knock of 269 runs in the first innings of the second Edgbaston Test before cracking 150 in the second innings. His 430 runs across two innings is the second-highest tally, next only to Graham Gooch’s 456 runs.

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Landing in the United Kingdom two months ago, in the absence of the two veterans, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, he had so much pressure on his shoulders. He displayed incredible consistency at number four, carrying the baton from the former captain Kohli, and showed stability and flair with extraordinary performance in the red-ball series.

ICC names Men's Player of the Month nominees for July 2025

The second nominee of the list is the South African all-rounder, Wiaan Mulder, who scored 531 runs across two matches at an astonishing average of 265.50, including a composed 147 in the second innings of the opening game at Bulawayo against Zimbabwe. He also picked up seven wickets at 15.28 with a four-wicket haul.

Mulder smashed 367 runs in the maiden outing as the captain of the Proteas, which is the highest individual score for the Rainbow Nation in Test history. The third and final nominee of the list is Ben Stokes, the England captain, who scored 251 runs in July 2025 at an average of 50.20 and took 12 wickets at 26.33.

Stokes was named the player of the match in successive games- first at Lord’s for his all-round show that shouldered them to victory before he picked up 5/72 during the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. In that fixture, the left-handed batter ended his Test century drought of two years as they piled up 669 runs in the first innings.

The entire seven weeks of the five-match Test series between England and India had been incredibly fantastic. There were several moments where one went up and the other came back to pull them down. At the end, it was the fitting finish with Mohammed Siraj breaking the stumps of Gus Akinson to end the series on a 2-1 margin.

The ICC has revealed a few records from the five fixtures. India’s six-run victory at the Kennington Oval during the fifth clash is their smallest victory by runs in the longest format. It overtook India's 13-run win over Australia in Mumbai 21 years ago when they defended 106. In over 2600 games of men’s Test matches, it’s the seventh narrowest win.

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The five games saw 7187 runs being scored across the two teams, which is the most in a five-match Test series. It has been bettered by only the 1993 Ashes series in the United Kingdom when 7221 runs were smashed. India’s Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and KL Rahul became the sixth trio in Test history to pass 500 runs in the same series.

ICC scripts new historic records from England vs India 2025 Test series

Only four other series have ever had three matches with the first innings gaps under 30 runs, including the last Ashes 2023. There were 45 bowled dismissals in the series, which is the most in any men’s Test series since 1984, and the most in a series held in England since 1976. Jasprit Bumrah, despite playing just three of the five games, claimed 10 wickets via this route.

The teams went through all the scheduled days of the series, with Mohammed Siraj bowling 18 of those 25 days. The last five-match Test series to go through all 25 days was the 2017/18 Ashes down under, with the tourists ending on a 4-0 defeat.

It was only the fourth time since 200 that a five-match series has seen all five clashes go to the five days, with the other instances being England’s tour of South Africa in 2004/05 and South Africa’s tour of West Indies 24 years ago.

ENG vs IND 5th Test Result: 

• India: 224 and 396
• England: 247 and 367
• India won by 6 runs

India skipper Shubman Gill and England captain Ben Stokes came for the final photoshoot together with the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy as the series ended 2-2. India pulled out a stunning performance to snatch the much-needed victory right from the jaws of the Three Lions.

Credit goes to Mohammed Siraj and the pace bowling department of Team India. Without their timely strikes, India could have lost the match at The Oval. Actually, the series itself was full of lots of 'what could have been' moments for both India and England. A draw is the perfect settlement to conclude an evenly fought rivalry—no loser, no winner, pure cricket.

The home team nicely positioned themselves for another win as long as Joe Root and Harry Brook were on the track. Their wickets proved to be one of the deciding factors of the final test. Behind India's gallant fightback, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna formed as a formidable force to lead their team to glory, leading from the front. From 301/4 to 367 for 10, for 66 runs, the host lost their remaining wickets.

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Words from captain's mouth

The skipper of England, Ben Stokes, who was ruled out of the match due to injury, said after the match, "It’s always difficult when you can’t actively participate in a game, but it was another hard-fought contest that went right down to Day 5." 

Team India captain Shubman Gill said on the occasion, "Every game went into the final day, which shows both sides came with their A-game. The captaincy becomes much easier when you have bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh in the side. The way they responded was magnificent."

ENG vs IND 5th Test Day 5 Scoreboard in brief 

England: 367/10

India pulled off a stunning win at The Oval to level the five-match Test series 2-2, marking a dramatic end to a closely fought contest. The victory was not only crucial but also came in one of the most intense matches of the series.

England skipper Ben Stokes spoke about the heated moments between players during the series. He acknowledged that in high-stakes encounters like this, emotions tend to run high and confrontations are part of the game.

However, Stokes also pointed out that while tempers may flare in the heat of the moment, such things are often forgotten soon after. He emphasised that what truly matters is the quality of cricket played and the competitiveness shown by both sides.

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Ben Stokes About Both Team’s Intense Moments During the Series:

With all five matches in the series stretching to the final day, emotions naturally flared between the two sides. Players exchanged heated words, and tensions escalated, especially during the Lord's Test. The most intense moment came when Shubman Gill was seen shouting angrily at Zak Crawley, accusing him of deliberately wasting time as India aimed to squeeze in an extra over.

Speaking during the post-match presentation, Ben Stokes addressed the fiery exchanges, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo. He acknowledged that such moments are bound to happen in hard-fought series, noting that passion often brings out confrontations. However, he downplayed the incidents, saying they are usually forgotten once the match is over.

Stokes said, “The whole series has been awesome. There's always going to be moments where emotions are coming out. No one will be going to bed crying about what was said.”

Stokes expressed pride in his team despite the narrow six-run loss to India. He mentioned that the goal from the leadership group was simply for the players to give their best effort, which they did throughout the closely contested match.

He further said, “ Difficult when you can't participate. Another hard-fought game. Both teams have put so much effort, amazing to be a part of. Bitterly disappointed we couldn't go over the line but very proud of the team. There were many what-ifs in the last five days, makes the game great, but all Brendon and I asked was to give it everything. Tongue, Atkinson and Overton showed it.”

Stokes couldn’t recover from his right shoulder injury in time to play the final Test at The Oval. However,he made a key impact earlier in the series, particularly at Lord’s, where he delivered a long spell in the fourth innings to help England win by a narrow 22-run margin.

Visitors India dramatically leveled the five-match away Test series in England by winning the final Test of the series by just six runs at Kennington Oval (The Oval), which was also their narrowest Test winning margin (by runs). Various emotions were running through both teams' squads, while the Indian team finished the series on a high note.  

This five-match Test series, Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, is unforgettable for the cricket fans, as it is very rare to experience a complete thrilling Test series for all five matches of the series. Every match produced great examples of Test cricket, with both teams never giving up at any moment of the game.  

Before The Oval Test, the last Test of the series, hosts England were leading by 2-1. It meant that India couldn't win the series, but could draw the series by winning the last one. Meanwhile, England couldn't lose the Test series, and they could win the Test series only by avoiding a defeat in the last fixture.

When India set the 374-run fourth innings target for England at The Oval Test, the visitors were favourites. After taking the first three wickets comfortably, Joe Root and Harry Brook hammered the Indian bowlers, as the hosts were close to the fourth innings with the brilliant 195-run partnership for the fourth wicket. However, once that partnership was broken, Indian pacers soon returned on track, as their disciplined bowling performances made the English batting difficult. With consistent pressure and successful wicket-taking abilities, the visitors were always in the game.  

As the fourth day of The Oval Test unfortunately ended due to rain interruptions, the fifth day of the Test match started with England needing 35 runs and India needing four wickets to win. The hosts fought hard and bravely, with Chris Woakes coming to bat with his dislocated shoulder, but India just managed to secure the victory after bowling out the hosts for 367 runs.

[WATCH] Injured Chris Woakes comes out to bat left-handed on Day 5 of ENG vs IND 5th Test

Now, we will see which players said what at the end of the unforgettable Test series. 

The whole team deserves it: KL Rahul

KL Rahul said after the match, "It means absolutely everything. I have played cricket for a while. We won the Champions Trophy. I have seen India lifting the World Cup; nothing compares to lifting the World Cup. But so many doubts, so many questions about whether Test cricket will stay or not. I think both the teams, with the way we have played the series, I guess have answered the question. For us as a team that wasn't given a chance in the series.. for us to fight back and fight every game and get a result of 2-2... Might seem like a draw, but for us and for Indian Test cricket going into the future, this will rank right at the top, and this is where the change begins, and the team will win a lot more series outside of India. The whole team deserves it. Once I joined the team, it hit me (Not having the senior players around). To look around and not see them (Rohit, Virat and Ashwin) felt a bit weird. Everyone came to me and asked me about conditions, and that is when it hit me that okay, I have stepped into a different role to help the younger guys and use all the experience and really put my hand up and stand up for this team. Shubman has been phenomenal. He has really led from the front. Has worked really hard with the boys. He has been tactically really good. The changes he has made have always got us wickets somehow. He will grow further. He is here to stay as a leader and take this Indian Test team to great heights."

I thought I could do it: POTM Mohammed Siraj

The Player of the Match, Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj, bagged nine wickets in The Oval Test match (4/86 & 5/104), including a fifer in the fourth innings. 

In the presentation ceremony, Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj said after winning the Player of the Match award, "I feel amazing because we fought hard from day one til now. My plan was to hit my areas consistently and build pressure. Everything from there was a bonus. When I woke up today, I thought I could do it. I downloaded a picture from Google saying 'believe.' I thought the Brook drop was a game-changing moment. If it had been taken, we might not have come out today. But the way he attacked, hats off to him. Lord's was heartbreaking, Jaddu bhai told me to back my defence and remember my dad and do it for him."

The way India bowled today.....: POTS Harry Brook

There were two Player of the Series awards for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Indian Head Coach Gautam Gambhir selected Harry Brook as the Player of the Series award, who scored 481 runs in nine innings of the series, including two centuries and two half-centuries, while the right-handed batter finished as the fifth most run-scorer in the series.

English POTS Harry Brook said, "Came into the day very confident. Had very two good players out there at the time and thought they’d easily see it home. The way India bowled today, they deserve every success. Absolutely, we thought the bowlers would stiffen up a bit and the pitch would flatten out a bit. Siraj has played every game of the series and has bowled every ball 85+mph; respect him a lot. He was always going to go out, massive credit to him. Unfortunate we couldn’t get over the line. So many things you can think in hindsight, we were obviously going so well, if we could’ve got a couple of big overs when I was going, then the game was done. We’ve seen collapses in this series. My thought process was just to hit as many runs as quickly as possible. If we needed 40 runs when I and Rooty were out there and I got out, the game would’ve still been ours. Hindsight’s a beautiful thing, now that I think about it, I probably shouldn’t have played that shot. It’s been an awesome series, very intense series, we’ve been knackered after everything. We’ve put everything out there, we’ve enjoyed every moment of it even though the result didn’t go our way today. It’s such a good advert for Test cricket."

They were making the ball talk: POTS and Indian captain Shubman Gill

On the other hand, Indian captain Shubman Gill won the Player of the Series award for India, which was chosen by the English Head Coach Brendon McCullum. Gill was the leading run-scorer in this Test series with 754 runs in 10 innings, including four centuries. 

Indian skipper and POTS Shubman Gill said, "Definitely both the teams played brilliantly throughout the series. Both the teams came up with their A-game, happy to get on the right side today. When you have bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh, captaincy seems easy. They were making the ball talk. Yes, there was a bit of pressure on us, but they were really bowling well. We were confident. We wanted them to feel the pressure throughput the 37 runs they scored. He is a captain’s dream, every ball, every spell he bowled he came all out and gave it everything for the team. Both teams coming into Day 5 not knowing who would win shows how passionate both teams were and how hard everyone has played. Feels very rewarding, there were certain things I wanted to work on as a batter and it was a goal to end as the best batter of this series, glad to get that goal. It is always a combination of technique and mentality, when you are feeling good mentally then the technique naturally flows. (What he’s learnt through the series) That we never give up."

Disappointed we couldn’t get the series win: English Test captain Ben Stokes

Now, it was the time for English regular Test captain Ben Stokes, who missed the last Test of the series. 

English captain Ben Stokes said, "It’s obviously always difficult when you can’t participate in the game. Another hard-fought game, down to Day 5, both teams have put in so much energy and effort into it. Bitterly disappointed we couldn’t get over the line. But really proud of my team with everything they’ve put in. Disappointed we couldn’t get the series win. When it got to the situation it did, there was no question in Woakesy’s (Chris Woakes) mind (about batting). He spent yesterday thinking about which way around he was going to bat. We’ve got guys who’ve gone out there and played with broken fingers and broken feet. It shows how much it means to these players to play for their countries. I’m very proud of what the players have done, and I’m sure Shubman is too. India-England is always a big series; you get so much emotion. We won’t be going to our bed crying about what was said (on the field), and neither would the Indian players; it’s all part of the passion. Worked incredibly hard to be able to go out there and fulfill my role as an all-rounder. Disappointed I had to miss out on this game. Time to rehab and wait for the big one now (The Ashes). When one of your bowlers goes down so early in the game, everyone else’s role changes. The heart and the desire the big fellows kept showing in that second innings was tremendous. All we ask from the guys is for them to leave everything out on the field. Not ideal when one of your bowlers goes down, but it was a tremendous effort from our three fast bowlers."

In August of 2018, India and England confronted each other for a see-sawing match. Virat Kohli could have easily left Birmingham as the hero, but heroics from Ben Stokes and his boys shifted the momentum of the Test match.

India needed 194 runs to win the game, but they fell short and lost all of their wickets for 162. England won the match by 31 runs. An evenly squared match witnessed high-quality cricket from both of the teams. Then the captain of England, Joe Root's first-innings 80-run innings, came as a sharp edge for the home team over the men in the blue brigade, along with Jonny Bairstow's 70 off 88. England registered 287 in the first innings, and India got 274 in their part.

Former India captain Virat Kohli was the sole warrior for his team during the first innings. He came to bat at number 4 and scored a much-needed 149 off 225 with 22 boundaries and one 6. In the next phase of the game, Ishant Sharma helped India massively to make a comeback in the contest. Sharma's 5-wicket spell was supported by Ravichandran Ashwin's 3, and a brace for Umesh Yadav restricted the host to only 180 runs.

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Sam Curran's role in match was massive 

Team India suddenly came into the situation from where they could drive their momentum for a win. This time Virat Kohli scored 51, and again, nominal support from his teammates. Ben Stokes took 4 scalps, and braces from James Anderson and Stuart Broad crushed India's dream to win the match.

The last three wickets could only add 21 more runs. For England, Sam Curran, just one Test old, made a decisive 63 in the second innings and 24 in the first and took five wickets in the Test.