Ben Stokes receives special silver cap several months after playing 100 Tests in a bizarre gesture from ECB
Published - 11 Jul 2024, 03:59 PM | Updated - 24 Aug 2024, 05:01 AM
England captain Ben Stokes, on Thursday (July 11), received a special memento for completing 100 Tests. The veteran allrounder achieved the incredible milestone earlier this year when he led England in the five-match Test series against India.
The third Test of the series in Rajkot was his 100th Test. Ben Stokes became the 16th England player to enter the 100-Test club. The other England players to play 100 or more Tests are James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Sir Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Alec Stewart, Ian Bell, Graham Gooch, David Gower, Michael Atherton, Colin Cowdrey, Sir Geoff Boycott, Kevin Pietersen, Lord Ian Botham, Sir Andrew Strauss and Graham Thorpe.
On Thursday, Ben Stokes received a special Silver Cap for the milestone before the second day's play of the ongoing first Test against West Indies at Lord's. The ongoing game is his 103rd Test. So far, he has scored 6316 runs and picked up 199 wickets in the longest format of the game.
100 Tests ✅
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 11, 2024
After reaching three figures in Rajkot, @BenStokes38 is presented with a silver cap to mark an incredible milestone 🧢
Congratulations, Stokesy 👏#EnglandCricket | #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/SN6Z5DCZgK
The New Zealand-born allrounder is 13th in the list of most Tests for England. The list is led by his teammate James Anderson who will be retiring from Tests after the ongoing game. Anderson has played 188 Tests so far and only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar has played more Tests than him.
Most Tests for England:
| Player | Matches | Runs | Wickets |
| James Anderson | 188 | 1353 | 701 |
| Stuart Broad | 167 | 3662 | 604 |
| Alastair Cook | 161 | 12472 | 1 |
| Joe Root | 141 | 11751 | 68 |
| Alec Stewart | 133 | 8463 | 0 |
| Ian Bell | 118 | 7727 | 1 |
| Graham Gooch | 118 | 8900 | 23 |
| David Gower | 117 | 8231 | 1 |
| Michael Atherton | 115 | 7728 | 2 |
| Michael Cowdrey | 114 | 7624 | 0 |
| Geoffrey Boycott | 108 | 8114 | 7 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 104 | 8181 | 10 |
| Ben Stokes | 103 | 6316 | 199 |
England in the driver's seat:
Talking about the ongoing Test between England and West Indies, the hosts are firmly in the driver's seat. Bowling first, England bowled out West Indies for just 121 runs on day one of the Test. Debutant Gus Atkinson starred with the ball, taking a record-equaling 7 wickets on debut while Anderson, Stokes, and Chris Woakes picked up one wicket.
In reply, England ended the day on a commanding 189 for 3 thanks to half-centuries from Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope. Crawley scored 76 while Pope scored 57. Joe Root (15) and Harry Brook (25) remained unbeaten at stumps.
