Despite his reputation as one of the most fearsome batters in world cricket, Ben Stokes' place in England's T20 World Cup side has come under question after a string of low scores.
After not playing a T20I for almost 18 months, Stokes was tasked with batting at number four in England's World Cup campaign. However, the 31-year-old has failed to make an impact with the bat, scoring 16 runs at an average of 5.33 and a strike rate of 84.21.
He is also yet to hit a single boundary and was bumped down to number six against New Zealand to give explosive hitters like Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone more of an opportunity to cause destruction.
Despite his struggles with the bat, Stokes has made an impact with the ball, picking up four wickets at 9.25. And former England bowler turned BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew believes they "still need" Stokes in the side.
"People may still debate Ben Stokes ' position in the team after his eight from seven balls down the order but I just cannot imagine an England white-ball team without the all-rounder," Agnew told BBC Sport.
"He is the talisman, such a huge figure on the field and in the dressing room, and England still need his wise head and experience.
"We should not forget it was Stokes who turned the momentum, as he does so often, by dismissing New Zealand captain Kane Williamson to break what had looked like a match-winning partnership with Phillips."
His comments come after ex-England batter Mark Butcher said Stokes was "under the pump" after struggling to make an impact with the bat. "People will say Stokes is capable of doing something magnificent at some point and his fielding and bowling will play into it," he said on the Wisden Cricket World Cup Daily podcast.
"But then England have got lots of other batters in that line-up who are also capable of doing it who are all batting one position lower than they would do otherwise."
