Best XI across all formats in 2016

Ben Stokes

The value of a good all-rounder is one that can only truly be felt when you don't have one. Having a player who can be picked in the side as a specialist batsman or a bowler is a luxury that not many countries have. But England are fortunate to have one in Ben Stokes, who makes it into this side as the all-rounder.

Nearly 1,500 runs and 50 wickets make for great numbers for a batsmen and a bowler but when you consider that it was Stokes who managed both, that is when you know you have a serious talent on your hands. And the Durham all-rounder has only just begun his international career.

Whether it was providing a final flourish in the shorter formats, some useful counter-attacking middle-order runs in Tests, Stokes was a hit with the bat. With the ball, he showed his mastery of reverse swing with the red ball and his death bowling prowess in the limited-overs, barring the debacle in the World T20 final.