Ben Stokes’ astonishing 114-ball hundred on day two of the second Test in Barbados makes him only the fifth man in history, after Sir Garfield Sobers, Jacques Kallis, Sir Ian Botham and Kapil Dev, to hit twice as many. 5,000 runs and 150 wickets in Test cricket
Ben Stokes celebrates after his 114-ball century, his 11th in Test cricket for England
If you’re going to join an illustrious group of cricket legends, then you really want to do it in style.
That’s exactly what Ben Stokes did when he became the fifth man in history, after Sir Garfield Sobers, Jacques Kallis, Sir Ian Botham and Kapil Dev, to make the remarkable double of 5,000 runs and 150 wickets in the heat of the test arena.
One ball he was at 4997 test runs, the next he was at 5003, as he etched his name into the history books by smoking an impressive six of Alzarri Joseph long while standing on one leg.
That high came during a 20-plus-run career, which had started with Stokes firing three straight fours at the pacer, amid a longer and rather surprising onslaught when the influential all-rounder carried England from a dominant position in the second Test. to a potentially invincible one.
As Stokes pummeled the helpless Joseph and Veerasammy Permaul with slog-sweeps, reverse-sweeps and powerful ground shots, he went from 23 after 55 balls to 87 of 89. He plundered 64 runs off 34 deliveries in that stretch, hitting four sixes. . and eight fours. It was a dizzying hit.
Speaking in Sportformer England and Surrey player Mark Butcher said: “The thing that strikes you being in the stadium is the noise the ball makes as it leaves Stokes’ bat and disappears off the ground. It’s like an Indiana Jones whiplash.”
Stokes’ six milestones against Joseph ensured that he now shares a statistical achievement with Messrs. Botham, Sobers, Kallis and Dev, and is arguably as important to his team, perhaps even more so, than that quality quartet was to the team’s. they.
Stokes is very much the pulse of this England team: the man who steps forward in times of crisis, or as was the case in Barbados on Thursday, steps on the accelerator when there is a game to bring forward.
We know this from his brilliant 2019 summer of World Cup glory and Ashes exploits, when he kept his team afloat both times before speeding off to famous victories.
There was no crisis at Kensington Oval, with England already in command of the Test which started day two 244-3 on a flat deck, but Stokes still showed great game management.
Starting their innings quietly with the new ball only five overs and the West Indies closers refreshed after a night’s sleep, Stokes rarely found the fence in the first nine overs.
He hinted at what was to come with two fours in the space of four balls during the inning’s over 99, bowled by Kemar Roach, but it was after the drinks that it really got white-hot, a sweeping reverse four from Permaul. cementing his position of fifty and Joe Root’s and setting off the ambush to come.
Permaul’s next ball was sent into the stands and the scenes that followed were reminiscent of his brutal double century in Cape Town in 2016 when he took his session run tally to 89.
Stokes got the gears back down after Root’s ejection shortly after lunch, but then got them back up as Bairstow went down, hitting Kraigg Brathwaite for successive sixes before his dazzling innings ended a delivery later when he was caught at the edge. .
For people watching, one of Stokes’ strikes was likely to have been the highlight, but for the man himself it would have been the hundredth moment itself, as he reached triple figures for the first time in an England shirt since the passing of his father Ged in December 2020. .
The look at the sky and the traditional celebration of crossed fingers showed exactly who he was dedicating this century to.
“I don’t like to talk selfishly, but it was nice to look up at the sky and say ‘cheers,'” Stokes told reporters after the day’s play.
“Of the hundreds that I have, that’s personally one of the most memorable because of everything that’s happened in the last 18 months or two years.”
Ged’s passing came amid a challenging period for Stokes, who has also taken time out of the game in 2021 to prioritize his mental health.
It was no surprise, then, that it didn’t look like a gallop during England’s dismal Ashes campaign over the winter, a tour in which he averaged under 24 with the bat, over 71 on the ball and was hampered by a lateral strain. .
But Stokes appears to be back to his best and fittest now, whether it be playing tireless bowling, as he did in the first Test against the West Indies, or repeatedly punishing the ball to the limit with the bat, as he did with abandon on the day. . two from the second Test in Barbados.
The coup saw him join an illustrious group of cricket legends but, for England, Stokes is truly one of a kind.
West Indies and England will resume the second Test at 2pm UK time on Friday. Follow the text commentary one after another from 1:45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
