The Ashes 2025: Allan Border went to the edge and came back. Can Ben Stokes?

Ben Stokes is starting to resemble Allan Border in 1986; a captain pushed to his wit’s end. Border fought back to become one of Australia’s most popular leaders ever. Can Stokes do the same for England?

Ben Stokes is starting to look like Allan Border circa 1986 — a brave captain pushed to his wit’s end.

A man on the edge. A man losing patience with his team, sick of the rhetoric and deciding it’s time for a bit of straight talk in the hope it will jolt his men into action.

For crying out loud, do something … anything.

You could hear it in his exasperated comments after the second Test at the Gabba when he said his dressing room was not a place for “weak’’ men — an extremely rare confession for a skipper, especially in the middle of a series.

You could see it in his bemused body language when he set a field for Jofra Archer to bowl bouncers and the bowler instead pitched it up to the bat.

Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer’s plan to rattle Steve Smith spectacularly backfired. Picture: Getty Images

You could even see it in pictures coming back from Noosa where his thousand mile stare was that of a man dragging a ball and chain behind him.

Even the photo of him waiting for Uber Eats outside his Noosa hotel carries the look of a man in the dock waiting for a judge’s decision to be handed to him rather than someone waiting for a local hamburger.

Border felt this way leading Australia back in 1986.

Allan Border once threatened to resign as Australian captain.

England captain Ben Stokes may feel the same way. Picture: Getty Images

He threatened to resign if the team did not improve but changed his mind and Australia drew a huge sigh of relief because they needed him to stay at the helm which he did for another eight years.

Border fought his way through the gloom to become one of Australia’s most popular captains of all time. But for a while it looked like there would be no escape.

Allan Border became one of Australia’s most popular captains. Picture: Getty Images

Stokes knows this vibe because there is no redeeming features for England this summer.

They are down in all aspects of the game. His fielders dropped five catches in Brisbane.

In all four innings on tour Stokes has come to the crease with his team in crisis.

His bowlers cannot hit a line or length. His vice-captain Harry Brook, far from covering Stokes’ back, has become the embodiment of England’s woes with his reckless stroke-play.

England needs Ben Stokes to find and unleash his inner Allan Border. Picture: Getty Images

Ashes series cannot simply define captaincy careers but truncate them if you cannot produce the goods. As Ian Botham, Ricky Ponting, Bill Lawry and Graham Gooch found out.

All lost their spots during or after Ashes defeats.

England must hope Stokes can find his Border mojo because they need him.

Harry Brook is not ready to be captain and nor is anyone else.

It’s Stokes or bust. You can understand why he looks so stressed.

Originally published as The Ashes 2025: Allan Border went to the edge and came back. Can Ben Stokes?