Ben Stokes‘ international career will be remembered for many match wins, World Cup glory and memorable Ashes heroics. However, among his many accomplishments, the English player leaves with a unique test that shows the versatility he brought to the game.
Ben Stokes special appearance
Stokes, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, remains the only player in Test history to have scored 11 wickets and dismissed batsmen at 11 positions in the batting order. He is also known to be the only player to have taken 11 wickets in Test cricket, although TimesofIndia.com could not independently verify these figures.It’s a rare read that shows the amazing roles he played in his 15 years of international career. Whether opening the batting, rescuing the middle order or finishing the innings to bring down the order, Stokes answered England’s call whenever it was needed. With the ball, he also took wickets at every batting position, highlighting his importance as a true all-rounder.The 35-year-old retired from international duty after the recently concluded third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge. His England tour began in 2011 and went on to make over 250 appearances across all formats.His retirement closes the chapter of one of England’s greatest modern cricketers. Stokes played prominent parts in two notable victories for the country in 2019, firstly with an unbeaten 84 in a thrilling ODI World Cup match against New Zealand and later an unbeaten 135 against Australia at Headingley to keep England’s Ashes hopes alive.He signed up with 258 teams in South Africa in Cape Town in 2016 and became one of the two players in the Mateso league to complete more than 7,000 runs and 250 wickets. The only other cricketer who has managed to do so well is Jacques Kallis.Stokes also defined aggressive batting in the longest format, finishing with 138 sixes, the most by any batsman in Test cricket. He is one of only three batsmen to hit more than 100 wickets in that season.His retirement came shortly after an overseas row following England’s first Test win over New Zealand. Stokes and Gus Atkinson were initially ruled out of the second Test after breaching the team’s midnight curfew while an investigation was carried out over an incident at a London nightclub.The Cricket Regulator later found insufficient evidence to establish a breach of the ECB Cricket Regulator rules and cleared all players of any wrongdoing. The ECB confirmed that Stokes was not involved in the brawl and saw nothing of it, while Atkinson was subjected to unprovoked abuse. However, both players received written warnings for breaching contract terms, and their failure in the second test was deemed sufficient punishment.While statistics only make up one part of Stokes’ legacy, his special place in the Test Record books serves as another reminder of just how versatile and dynamic he was. Few players have impacted the match in so many different ways, and no one has combined versatile batting and wicket-taking at every batting position like Ben Stokes.