麻豆APP

Ben Stokes in 2014 photo by NAPARAZZI

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Ben Stokes

Benjamin Andrew Stokes is an English cricketer who is the captain of the England Test team and plays for the England Twenty20 International (T20I) team. He was born in 1991 in New Zealand.

Ben Stokes is the son of rugby league player and coach Gerard Stokes, known as ‘Ged Stokes’, and an English mother, having English and M膩ori ancestry. He moved to England at the age of 12. This was after his father was appointed head coach of Working ton Town rugby league club, and grew up in the small West Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, attending Cockermouth School and playing cricket for Cockermouth Cricket Club. He won the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket League Premier Division Title with the club as a 15 year old in 2006.

He is a left-handed middle-order batsman and right-arm fast bowler. Stoke holds the Test world record for most runs in an innings at number six. Including scoring 258 against South Africa during England’s 2015-16 tour. In the same Test, he and Jonny Bairstow set the world record for highest sixth-wicket stand in Tests, at 399.

 In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues, including the Indian Premier League, playing for Rising Pune Supergiant and Rajasthan Royals.

 The following are the Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Ben Stokes

1.Ben Stokes made his debut in domestic cricket for Durham County Cricket Club in 2009

Ben Stokes bowling photo by Dan Heap

Stokes made his one-day debut for Durham in 2009 at The Oval and managed to take the wicket of the highly experienced batsman Mark Ramprakash with only his third delivery in professional cricket.

He played in two youth Tests against Bangladesh U19 during 2009, in which he made a half-century and took a few wickets.  

2. At age of 13 he was  spotted him by a mystery benefactor who supported his talent

Ben Stokes had a record-breaking 258 against South Africa will also have been the culmination of an anonymous gift to a talented but erratic schoolboy player. Sensing potential greatness in the then 13-year-old, a mystery benefactor agreed to fund private coaching through the winter to iron out flaws in his batting and bowling.

More than a decade later however, with the coaching now handsomely paid off, the identity of the benefactor on remained a mystery, with Stokes’ first coach in England vowing never to reveal the secret.

3.He was named the Wisden Leading Cricketer and won multiple awards

Ben Stokes photo by Dan Heap

In 2019 and 2020 Ben was named the Wisden leading cricketer in the World. He also won the ICC Award for Best Men’s Cricketer and BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2019. He was appointed captain of England’s Test team in April 2022.

4. Ben Stokes has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues

Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Super giants to play in the Indian Premier League during the 2017 season. He made his maiden Twenty20 century against Gujarat Lions, hitting 103 not out from 63 balls, including hitting seven fours and six sixes. 

In the one off T20I against Australia, Stokes took figures of 1鈥�29 as England won by five runs. Stokes played in all five ODIs against Australia, his best performance with the ball coming in the second game of the series where he took figures of 3鈥�60, although England lost the match by 59 runs. During the second ODI match of the series against Australia, Stokes was given out obstructing the field.

5. He was a part of England鈥檚 squad in the 2010 U-19 World Cup. 

Ben Stokes bowling photo by Dan Heap

He played in two youth Tests against Bangladesh U19 during 2009, in which he made a half-century and took a few wickets. He then went on to play in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, during which he scored a century against the India Under-19 team.

England finished their journey in the quarter-finals. Ben amassed 166 runs in 6 matches at a commendable average of 41.50 and grabbed 7 wickets with the ball. 

6. Ben Stokes won the 2013 County Championship with Durham County Cricket Club 

This after making his first-class debut for the club in 2010. Stokes was a key member of the Durham side that won the 2013 County Championship, and was also named Man of the Match in the final of the 2014 Royal London One-Day Cup Final at Lord’s, having scored 38* and taken 2 wickets in a low-scoring game against Warwickshire.

7. Stokes holds a lot of records in test cricket

Ben Stokes plays at a ball against Australia photo by Ben Sutherland

He has smashed the 2nd fastest double century in Test cricket history in 2016. With  just 163 balls in the 1st innings against South Africa in Cape town. At the end of his innings, he scored 258 runs off 198 balls. Ben Stoke  became the quickest batsman to score 250 in tests in just 196 balls. 

Stokes fabricated a partnership of 399 runs for the 6th wicket with Jonny Bairstow. It was the highest for the 6th wicket in tests. Stokes has smacked the 2nd most number of sixes in a Test inning, 11 sixes against South Africa in 2016. He equaled with Mathew Hayden, Brendon McCullum, and Nathan Astle.

His 258 against South Africa is also the highest score by a batsman batting at the  number 6 position. Stokes is the 2nd all-rounder from England . He had a score of 4000 runs and take 100 wickets in tests after Sir Ian Botham.

8. Stokes made his first international appearance for England against Ireland in an ODI match in 2011

He managed to score only 3 runs and was not given the ball. He has played 38 T20Is for his country and notched up 442 runs at a decent strike rate of 136.8. With the ball, Stokes has got 19 wickets so far. 

9. Ben Stokes made his test debut against Australia in the 2014 Ashes Series

In the third match of his very first test series, he brought up his maiden test century, 120 off 195 balls. His first fifer came in the 5th match of the series, he returned with 6 for 99 in the first innings, including the wickets of Aussie Skipper Michael Clarke and Steve Smith.

 The start of his Test career was phenomena. At the end of the series, Stokes accumulated 279 runs and bagged 15 wickets. England got a big superstar in form of Ben Stokes.

10.Stokes and Bairstow set a record for the highest-ever sixth-wicket partnership by scoring 399 against South Africa 

Ben Stokes in 2014 photo by NAPARAZZI

Stokes then hit a career-best score of 258, which included 30 fours and 11 sixes. It was the second fastest double century in the history of test cricket (from 167 balls). His sixth wicket stand with Jonny Bairstow (who himself scored 150 not out) of 399 was a new world record, of which 196 were scored in 25 overs in the morning session on Day 2 alone.

Stokes’ innings was ended in bizarre fashion, when after hitting two successive sixes, he was dropped by AB de Villiers only to be run out having paused between the wickets. The match finished in a draw with the batsmen dominating the game. In the third Test Stokes took five wickets as England won, securing a series victory for England. 

The fourth and final match of the series was won by South Africa. Although Stokes did take another five wickets, including 4鈥�86 in South Africa’s first innings.