Ben Stokes is bowling more consistently than ever - this series proves that when fit the England captain is one of the great all-rounders, writes NASSER HUSSAIN

I have never seen Ben Stokes bowl as consistently well as I have across this series.

In the past, we have seen him bowl some magical spells, especially when it is reverse swinging. There have been times where he has had that Botham, Flintoff or Broad feel about him, that ability to take the ball in a key moment and do something special to change a game.

But he will also bowl poor spells where he cannot get his length right, he will drag it down, and we see him kicking the foot holes in frustration.

Against India this summer, I cannot remember him bowling a bad spell. He has been England’s best bowler in the series. He now has 16 wickets, the most he has taken in a series in his career, and on Thursday he got his first five-wicket haul for eight years.

That stat might have surprised some but Stokes has primarily been the fourth seamer in some pretty good attacks, with the likes of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood alongside him.

If the ball is doing a bit, it is often the front three who get the wickets. If it is not, Stokes is often doing the hard donkey work. He’s the one in the enforcer role, banging it halfway down when it’s flat. Why do you think he has had so many injuries?

As a fourth seamer, he is fabulous. I don’t think we talk enough about how much Stokes moves the ball. Nobody in England’s attack moves it more. He leans wide, angles the ball in and nips it away.

Stokes has always had that skill. The thing with him has obviously been his fitness. But right now, he looks as fit as I have seen him.

I went to interview him in Mumbai in the spring and I’ve never seen him look so lean and trim. That doesn't come by coincidence. That is someone who is in the gym, training and rehabbing hard.

Anyone who has ever met Stokes knows he doesn't do anything by half measure. He is full on.

In this series, his spells have been getting longer and longer. I see that as someone who is very confident in his body.

He will always need someone in his ear saying, ‘Just be careful’. We saw at Lord’s in the first innings when bowling coach Tim Southee came down to tell Stokes that he had bowled enough.

But I am old school and a captain is the man in charge. Stokes is the decision maker and if he, as captain, chooses to bowl himself, so be it. He knows his own body.

He said when he became captain that he wasn’t going to ask anyone to do something that he wasn’t willing to do myself. He said he would lead by example and he does that.

There were a few questions asked before this series about why he didn't go off and play for the Lions because he hadn't spent any time in middle. But this series has shown why he didn’t. When it comes to playing at this level, he will always put on a show. He doesn’t need more cricket.

All this series, we have talked about how many Tests can Jasprit Bumrah or Jofra Archer play on their return from injury. Stokes is another lad who is coming back from injury but, because he's captain, nobody even questions whether he will play all five games.

You judge a top all-rounder on whether he can get into the side as both a batter and a bowler. Even if his batting has slightly fallen away of late, Stokes is generally someone who can do that. On Thursday he joined Botham, Garfield Sobers and Jacques Kallis as the only players with 10 or more centuries and five or more five-wicket hauls in Tests.

It was blatantly obvious before a ball went down against India that England are a better side with Stokes in it as a batter, bowler and fielder.

This series has only further proved that a fit Ben Stokes is one of the great all-rounders in the world.