Here are some unknown facts about Birthday Boy Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes (Image Source: Twitter)
Ben Stokes has taken up the captaincy role of the England Test team after Joe Root stepped down from the role. The English Test captain turned 31 on 4th June 2022. In his career, he has already experienced a lot of ups and downs. From his infamous pub scandal to guiding England to their maiden World Cup title he has seen both the highs and lows and has come out of it even stronger as a player and a person. On the birthday of arguably the best all-rounders of modern times let us take a look at some unknown facts about Stokes.
1. Not an English born: Ben Stokes was actually born in Christchurch in New Zealand. Hence, he is not English by birth.
2. Third English Test captain who was born abroad: By succeeding Joe Root as the Test captain of England, he joined a unique list of players who were born outside England but captained the national team in Tests. The other players to have achieved this feat are – Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss.
3. Son of a Rugby Player: Ben Stokes’ father Gerard Stokes was a professional Rugby player.
4. Played U-19 WC in 2010: Ben Stokes played under-19 World Cup in 2010 for England. He scored 166 runs in 6 matches in the tournament and also picked up 7 wickets with the ball in hand.
5. International Debut: Ben Stokes played his first international match for England against Ireland in an ODI match in 2011. He scored only 3 runs in the match and did not get a chance to bowl in the match.
6. Second fastest double century: Ben Stokes hold the record for scoring the second fastest double century in the history of Test cricket. He scored a double hundred in just 163 balls in 2016.
7. Highest 6 wicket partnership in Test: His partnership with Jonny Bairstow of 399 runs is the highest for the 6th wicket in Test cricket history.
8. Record number of sixes in a Test inning: He holds the record for the second most number of sixes in a Test inning. He hit 11 sixes against South Africa in 2016.
9. Highest Individual score at No. 6 in Test: Ben Stokes played a knock of 258 runs against South Africa, which is the highest score in an innings by a player at number 6.
10. Rare feat of 4000 runs and 100 wickets in Test cricket: He is only the second English player after Sir Ian Botham to score 4000 plus runs and pickup 100 plus wickets in Test cricket.
11. Player of the Match in 2019 WC final: Stokes was adjudged the Player of the Match in the final match of the 2019 World Cup final for his brilliant knock of 84 not out.
12. Passion for the game: Ben Stokes’ passion for the game is proved by the incident where he punched the locker in the dressing room in rage after being dismissed for a duck in a T20 match against West Indies. He fractured his wrist due to this.
13. Love for tattoos: Ben Stokes has a great love for tattoos. His whole body is inked. The tattoo on his left arm reads – “Being the best that you can be is only possible if you desire to be champion and your fear of failure is non-existent.”
14. Net Worth: His estimated net worth is $10 Million.
15. Test Cap: Ben Stokes is the 658th player to get the English cap in Test cricket.
