West Indies vs England: Ben Stokes joins Kapil Dev, Ian Botham in elite list

Ben Stokes further strengthened his case for the best all-rounder in modern day cricket as he notched up 120 runs off 128 deliveries on Day 2 of the second Test against the West Indies at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday. His innings, laced with 11 boundaries and six hits over the fence, helped the visitors post a massive total of 507/9 before declaring in their first essay. 

The knock became more special for Stokes as he joined the likes of Test greats Jacques Kallis, Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham and Kapil Dev to become the fifth all-rounder to score 5,000 runs and take 150 wickets in the longest format of the game. 

READ MORE: West Indies vs England: Braithwaite calls England skipper Root ‘disrespectful’

Ben Stokes believes it was a ‘matter of seizing the opportunity’

Stokes, incidentally, carried on the momentum in the first innings from England captain Joe Root (153) and Daniel Lawrance (91) after the duo combined to give the visitors a good platform to flourish. 

The Englishman believes that his side has a long batting line-up and it was an opportunity for him to seize the opportunity after the prolific knocks from Root and Lawrance to pile on the misery on their opponents. 

“Was good to be out there to capitalize on the good work Joe and Dan put in yesterday, we obviously have a long batting line up so it was a matter of seizing the opportunity and identifying those situations,” Stokes said in the post-match interview. 

“Obviously, winning the toss and batting, we were trying to get as many runs as we possibly can and try and get the game moving and try and get a few wickets towards the back end of the day. Seen a few balls spin and bounce from Leachy, a lot more than Antigua anyway. 

“Tomorrow morning it’s going to be huge. It’s a good wicket and we got two of their better batters out there. Playing in a team sport you never to try think in a selfish way and it’s a very special feeling (on claiming his 11th Test ton).” 

West Indies, meanwhile, made a good start in their first innings as captain Kraigg Brathwaite (28 not out) and Shamarh Brooks (31 not out) helped their side reach 71/1 when umpires called it a day.