Interesting Facts About Ben Stokes, the English All-rounder
Interesting Facts About Ben Stokes, the English All-rounder
Ben Stokes is arguably one of the best all-rounders in all three formats of the game. Stokes’ name is well-known in the cricket world, as he has represented England in all formats. He bowls at a good pace of 140 km/hr and plays offensively in the lower middle order.
Stokes is a skilled fielder who rarely misses the ball if he can catch it. After the retirements of Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff, England was left without an all-rounder. Ben Stokes, however, has stepped into that role by joining the England cricket team. Ben Stokes recently retired from ODI cricket, so here are some interesting facts about the whirlwind all-rounder.
Also Read: 20 Most Interesting Facts About Ravindra Jadeja
Facts and Achievements of Ben Strokes
- Benjamin Stokes was born to Gerad Stokes, a former rugby player and mentor, and Deborah Stokes, an English mother in Christchurch, New Zealand. Nonetheless, he moved to England at the age of 12 in 2003.
- Ben Stokes loves to play video games and Esports games. This is what he does most of the time when he is away from cricket.
- Stokes was a member of the Cockermouth school’s cricket team in the United Kingdom while he studied there. Yet, Stokes has been trained as a rugby player till the age of 15 due to his father being a rugby player and coach of the Working town Rugby Club. Even though Ben Stokes used to play rugby, he was never excited about the game.
- Ben Stokes made his first appearance in domestic cricket in 2009 for Durham Country. In his first List A match, Stokes achieved the feat of picking the wicket of the former English batsmen Mark Ramprakash.
- Stokes played in the 2010 U-19 World Cup for England’s squad. England was stopped from advancing any further than the quarter-finals. Ben played 6 matches in this tournament and accumulated 166 runs with an impressive average of 41.50 and took 7 wickets.
- Ben Stokes made his first-class debut in 2010 and won the 2013 county championship with Durham County Cricket Club.
- Stokes made his first international appearance against Ireland in 2011 while representing England. He wasn’t given the ball in that ODI match and he scored only 3 runs for his team. Stokes has played 34 T20Is till now and amassed 442 runs for his country with a strike rate of 136.8. He got 19 wickets so far in T20I with the ball.
- Benjamin made his test debut against the Australian cricket team in the 2014 Ashes series. In the third match of his debut series, he scored his first test century, 120 off 195 balls. He brought his first fifer in the fifth match of the series. He took 6 for 99 in the first innings, along with Australian Skipper Michael Clarke and Steve Smith. His performance in the Test matches was magnificent. Stokes has scored 279 runs and taken 15 wickets in the Ashes series. Ben Stokes has emerged as a major star for England.
- There are various records that stokes hold in Test Cricket.
- In 2016, Ben smacked the 2nd fastest double century in test cricket, in just 163 balls, in Capetown against South Africa during the 1st inning. Stokes hit 258 runs off 198 balls at the end of the innings and became the swiftest batsman to score 250(in 196 balls) runs in the test. He also has the record for the highest wicket partnership in test matches, he partnered with Jonny Bairstow for 399 runs.
- He has smashed the second highest number of sixes in Test Inning. Ben Stokes, Mathew Hayden, Brendon McCullum, and Nathan Astle all have hit the same amount of sixes (11).
- He scored the highest number of runs in 6 position, 258 against South Africa.
- Stokes as an all-rounder holds the 2nd position after Sir Ian Botham to score 4000 runs and pick 100 wickets in Test matches for England.
- The talented Englishman had a terrible World Cup experience in 2016. West Indies needed 19 runs from 6 balls in the final over of the match. Carlos Brathwaite hit him for four consecutive sixes to lead his team to victory. After losing the final, Ben Stokes burst into tears. But his teammates sympathized with him and encouraged him to stay positive.
- Ben Stokes sweated and bled for England during the 2019 Cricket World Cup. For his 84 off 98 balls in the finals against New Zealand, he was named man of the match. Stokes scored 465 runs and took 7 wickets in 11 matches. What a journey for the strong man, from conceding four sixes in the 2016 T20 World Cup to winning the World Cup for his country.
- His 135* off 219 balls in the third test of the 2019 Ashes is considered the best test innings by an English batsman. England needed 72 runs but only had one wicket. Batting with nightwatchman Jack Leach, Stokes led his team to a resounding victory.
- Stokes is also known as “Stokesy” and “Benny.” English opener Alex Hales refers to him and Jonny Bairstow as the “Weasley Twins” because they resemble each other.
- Stokes is extremely enthusiastic about his sport. In rage after going out on duck in a T20 match against the West Indies in 2013 at Kensington, he punched the locker in the dressing room, breaking his wrist. Following the incident, he was barred from competing in the 2014 T20 World Cup. His teammates would refer to him as “Hurt Locker” as a result of this incident.
- Ben Stokes enjoys getting tattoos. His entire body is covered in a variety of lovely designs. “Being the best that you can be is only possible if you desire to be a champion and your fear of failure is non-existent,” he has tattooed on his left arm. He also has a tattoo of a family of lions on his back which symbolizes his own family.
- Rising Pune Supergiants paid a whopping $2.1 million for Ben Stokes. He was also the edition’s most valuable player, scoring 316 runs and taking 12 wickets in 12 matches.
- Stokesy wears jersey number 55.
- Omelette is his favorite food.
- Ben Stokes’s net worth is estimated to be $11 million.
- The ICC awarded Stokes the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as the player of the year for 2020.
- Ben Stokes married Clare Ratcliffe in 2013. They are the parents of two children.
Career Stats of Ben Stokes
Format | Span | Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Avg | 100s | Wkts | BBI | Bowl Avg | 5w | Ct | St | Avg Diff |
Test | 2013-2022 | 83 | 5280 | 258 | 36.16 | 11 | 182 | 6/22 | 32.38 | 4 | 89 | 0 | 3.77 |
ODI | 2011-2022 | 105 | 2924 | 102* | 38.98 | 3 | 74 | 5/61 | 42.39 | 1 | 49 | 0 | -3.4 |
T20i | 2011-2021 | 34 | 442 | 47* | 20.09 | 0 | 19 | 3/26 | 37.73 | 0 | 15 | 0 | -17.64 |
Also Read: Top 10 Players with Most Man of the Match Award in ODI
Frequently Asked Question
Q. Did Ben Stokes Retire from Cricket?
A. Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from ODI matches but he is still playing in the other format of matches.
Q. Why Stokes isn’t playing cricket?
A. Ben is currently taking an indefinite break from cricket to prioritize his Mental health.
Q. Why did Ben Stokes retires from ODI?
A. Ben Stokes retired from the ODI matches as his schedule was very busy to give his 100% in cricket.
Q. How old is Ben Stokes?
A. Ben Stokes was born on 4 June 1991 and currently, he is 31 years old.