Ben Foakes
Ben Foakes was born on 15 February 1993 in Colchester, Essex. His maiden international game was in November 2018, a Test match versus Sri Lanka in Galle.
Team played
England, Colts Cricket Club, Essex, Surrey, England Under-19, England Lions, Marylebone Cricket Club, South
Early Life
Foakes studied at Tendring Technology College. Sport runs in his family as his father, Peter, was a referee in the English Premier League.
Domestic Cricket
Foakes’s debut match for Essex was in 2011 against the touring Sri Lankan side. However, he scored only 5 runs in the first innings and pouched three catches in the match. In September 2011, Foakes signed a county contract until the 2013 season. In August 2014, he joined Surrey.
International Cricket
In January 2011, Foakes played for the England U-19 team taking part in two youth Tests on a tour to Sri Lanka. In total, he played 6 matches for the England U-19 team, including 3 youth ODIs versus South Africa.
In September 2017, Foakes was selected in England’s Ashes squad for the 2017-18 series but did not get to play a game. His Test debut was in November 2018 versus Sri Lanka. He cracked a hundred on debut becoming the 20th player and the second ‘keeper to record the feat for England.
Foakes’s ODI debut was in May 2019 versus Ireland in Dublin. His maiden T20I match was played two days later in Cardiff against Pakistan.
In May and June 2020, Foakes was included in England’s training squads to prepare for international matches that season. In July 2020, he was named a reserve for the first Test versus the Windies.
Other Career Details
Ben Foakes is primarily a wicket-keeper and then a batsman. His excellent glove skills enabled him to cement a spot in the Surrey team in 2016. He earned his Test debut in 2018 in Sri Lanka after regular ‘keeper Jonny Bairstow got injured. Foakes proved his batting skills too with a brilliant hundred on debut and kept wickets faultlessly to help England win the match.
Foakes suffered a lack of form and burnout in 2019 and took the winter off to refresh himself and regain the spark. He was back, firing all cylinders by springtime, and was chosen as the reserve wicket-keeper for England’s 2020 Sri Lanka tour.
Though Foakes played initially for Essex in domestic cricket, the presence of the established James Foster limited his chances. Therefore, he shifted to Surrey in 2014. He made good use of Bruce French’s coaching and expertise in England’s youth teams to hone his wicket-keeping skills.
Foakes was the highest run-getter for England in the Under-19 World Cup in 2012. Earlier that summer, he cracked 93 on his championship debut. In the 2013 season, Foakes scored his maiden championship and first-class hundreds and was chosen as the 12th man for the first Test of the Ashes series at home.
At the age of 19, Foakes was picked for the Lions’ Australia tour in early 2013. The tour was disastrous in terms of results but Foakes won a supporter in Andy Flower.
With Surrey, Foakes replaced regular wicket-keepers Steve Davies and Gary Wilson both of whom moved to other counties. Foakes had a championship average of 44 including a first-class high of 141 not out versus Hampshire. He could bat defensively as well as in attacking mode as shown by his unbeaten 59 off 235 deliveries versus Middlesex and a strike rate of more than 100 in the Royal London Cup where he led the averages.
The following season, Foakes averaged more than 40 in the county championship and had greater success in the 50-over tournament where his average was 96.40. He scored more than 50 in 6 out of 10 innings at a strike rate better than 100. Foakes also earned high praise from his county team coach Alec Stewart who called him the best wicket-keeper in the world.
Test
As of February 2021, Foakes has starred in 5 Tests in which he has stroked 332 runs at a 41.50 average and a 53.80 scoring rate with 1 fifty and 1 hundred. Foakes’s highest Test innings score is 107. He has pouched 10 catches and effected 2 stumpings in this format.
ODI
To date, Foakes has featured in a solitary ODI in which he blasted 61 not out at an 80.26 strike rate. He took two catches and made a stumping in that match.
T20I
Foakes has played in a single T20I so far but did not get to bat in that game.
