Ben Stokes joins Kallis and Sobers in historic club

Love him or hate him, you just can’t ignore Ben Stokes. 

Stokes’ legacy has already set a date with the history books. The Durham all-rounder became just the third cricketer in the 147-year-long Test cricketing history to amass 6000 runs and pick up 200 wickets. 

On July 11 (Thursday), the English skipper achieved that feat, removing the West Indian batter Kirk McKenzie for a nine-ball duck. The all-rounder shaped the ball back into the left-handed McKenzie, with the West Indian batter having no clue, trapping him right in front of the wicket. It was incidentally also his 100th Test wicket at home. 

Stokes follows the legacy of Sir Garry Sobers and South Africa’s finest all-rounder, Jacques Kallis, in the record book. The West Indian all-time great had scored 8032 runs in his Test career, averaging 57.78 while still being a lethal weapon with the ball, picking up 235 wickets.

On the other hand, Kallis picked up 292 wickets, and has a stellar record with the bat - 13289 runs at an average of 55.37. While Stokes is nowhere close to either of them in terms of runs (6316), his impact with the ball can’t be denied, evident by his exceptional average of 31.99.

Ever since Bazball took over in June 2022, Stokes’ England side have also transformed the landscape of Test cricket, with teams adopting the aggressive approach more and more. 

Currently, England are on top of West Indies in the Lord's Test, with the Men in Maroon struggling on 18/2, needing 232 more runs to cut down the deficit. This was after they succumbed to 121 in the first innings after being inserted into bat first. 

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