Ben Stokes felicitated by ECB with silver cap for completing 100 Tests

Ben Stokes is one of the few players who have opted out of the white-ball cricket to focus on Test cricket. Since he was named as the Test captain of England, along with coach Brendon McCullum, England have changed the dimensions of how Test cricket was played. Their aggressive approach and high-risk cricket are termed ‘Bazball’ in the cricketing lore. As England took on West Indies at the Lord’s in the first Test, Stokes was felicitated as he had already completed his 100 Tests during the Rajkot Test against India.

Stokes has played many memorable innings in his career, but his standout innings came against Australia in the third Test of Ashes 2019 in Headingley. Chasing a daunting target of 359, England were nine down for 286. He orchestrated one of the biggest chases in history to take England home. Three games later after the Rajkot Test, he was presented with a silver cap by the England Cricket Board (ECB) for reaching three figures. The 33-year-old became the only 18^th player for the Three Lions to achieve this feat.

Here’s ECB’s latest post on ‘X’:

Anderson set to bid adieu to international cricket

Talking about the all-rounder's 100^th Test, the hosts won the toss and opted to bowl first. On the back of debutant, Gus Atkinson’s 7-fer, West Indies were bundled out for a mere 121. England showcased a dominant performance with the bat amassing 371 runs as Zak Crawley and debutant, Jamie Smith scored 76 and 70 respectively. The milestone man, Stokes, was cleaned up by spinner, Gudakesh Moties for just four runs.

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The Test bears much importance for the star England pacer, James Anderson. The veteran pacer will bid adieu to the sport after the conclusion of the first Test. Talking about the state of affairs at Lord’s, the visitors are five down with just 57 runs on the board and are trailing behind 193 runs. Anderson, however, managed just one wicket in his farewell game's first innings and has already picked two in the second innings.