Ben Stokes completes 100 Test matches: Decoding his sensational stats
One of England's finest all-rounders ever, Ben Stokes has completed 100 appearances in Test matches. The third game between India and England in Rajkot marked his milestone. While Stokes has been England's premier all-rounder for over a decade now, he has also made a mark as a leader in the last couple of years. Here we decode his stellar stats in whites.
16th England player to accomplish the milestone
Stokes has now become the 16th player to complete a century of Test matches in England colors. Veteran pacer James Anderson, playing his 185th Test, is the team's most capped player. Meanwhile, Stokes made his Test debut during the 2013-14 Ashes series Down Under. Though England suffered a 0-5 whitewash against the Aussies, Stokes recorded a century and a fifer in that series.
Most sixes in Test history
With the bat, Stokes has hammered 6,251 Test runs at 36.34. He has 13 tons and 31 fifties (HS: 258). His tally of 128 sixes is the most for a batter in Test match history. Stokes also owns the fastest 250 in Test matches as he accomplished the milestone off 196 balls in the 2016 Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Stokes eyes this massive double
Stokes, who bowls medium-pace, is three shy of completing 200 Test wickets. As of now, he has scalped 197 wickets from 97 Tests at 32.07 (5W: 4). He can become the first England all-rounder and third player overall to achieve the double of 6,000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests. Notably, Stokes has not bowled lately due to his knee issues.
His sensational record as captain
Stokes, who replaced Joe Root as England's Test skipper in 2022, has so far led the Brits to 14 wins, 6 defeats, and a solitary draw in 21 Tests as captain (before this game). His win percentage of 66.66% is the highest for an England skipper who has led in at least 10 Tests. Stokes owns 1,279 runs as England's Test captain at 38.75.
Here are Stokes's other Test records
Stokes's tally of five catches in the second innings of the 2020 Cape Town Test against SA is the joint-most for a player in a Test innings. He smoked 11 sixes against SA in 2016, the second-joint-most for a batter in a Test innings. His partnership of 399 runs with Jonny Bairstow in the 2016 Cape Town Test remains the highest sixth-wicket stand (Tests).