What’s happened to Ben Stokes?

0, 5, 5, 4, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 0.

Ten innings, 18 runs, and a spectacular form slump.

That’s the sum total of Ben Stokes’ output for England since January 26, when his side was narrowly beaten by Australia to complete the hosts’ comprehensive 4-1 ODI series victory.

Through that time, Stokes has averaged 1.8 with the bat, with a highest score of five, to leave Australians very much scratching their heads.

This was a man hailed as England’s next big thing after providing perhaps his country’s only ray of hope with a series of standout performances throughout their ill-fated tour of Australia.

Stokes, 23, debuted in the second Test in Adelaide, grabbing a couple of wickets and looking one of England’s more penetrative bowlers with genuine pace and aggression at the crease.

He followed up an impressive debut with the ball by stroking a superb maiden hundred in his next Test – a backs-to-the-wall, counterattacking 120 in a losing cause.

“He’s only 22 years old, and when he gets the ball in his hand he tries to make things happen,” Michael Vaughan told cricket.com.au. “And with the bat, he's the best thing that's come out of this tour by a country mile for this side.”

Another former England captain, Nasser Hussain, was also glowing in his praise of the allrounder, who took eight wickets in the fifth Test in Sydney, including a maiden five-wicket haul.  

“He'll be one England player going back to their hotel room thinking, 'I've had a good tour',” Hussain told Sky Sports.

“Ian Botham tells us that generally with an allrounder if one of your disciplines is working well, that will give you confidence in the other.

“So hopefully for Ben this is the start of a very long career as England's allrounder."

Stokes’ dip in form since is staggering.

The right-arm quick, left-hand batsman failed completely with the blade in England’s T20 and ODIs in the Caribbean, obviously reaching his own breaking point when he punched a locker room door in frustration after a first-ball duck and ended up needing surgery on a fractured wrist. 

The self-inflicted injury cost him a place on England's World T20 squad, but following his exploits in Australia, he was still a surprise omission from the country's Test side to face Sri Lanka in June.

After England’s 1-0 series loss, he earned a recall, and despite again impressing with the ball (seven wickets at an average of 33.14), Stokes is yet to register a run in three innings.

Stokes, and England team management, will be looking beyond the paranormal in a bid to solve a remarkable drop in form.