Ben Stokes joins exclusive club of legendary England Test captains

Ben Stokes joined an exclusive club of legendary England Test captains on Monday after becoming only the third skipper from his country to claim 50 Test wickets while leading the side.

The England all-rounder reached the milestone during India’s second innings in the ongoing first Test at Headingley, when he dismissed Sai Sudharsan. He had earlier impressed with the ball in the first innings as well, taking 4 for 66 in 20 overs, which brought his total to five wickets in the match.

With this achievement, Stokes joined the ranks of former England captains Ray Illingworth and Bob Willis. Illingworth took 51 wickets in 31 Tests at an average of 35.96, while Willis recorded 77 wickets in just 18 matches as captain, boasting a superb bowling average of 21.59.

Stokes, widely regarded as one of the finest all-rounders of his generation, is also on the verge of achieving rare batting milestones. He is just 224 runs away from becoming the first England captain to score 2,000 Test runs and take 50 wickets while leading the side — a feat that would underline his unique contribution with both bat and ball.

Additionally, Stokes needs only 272 more runs to join an elite list of English batters to reach the 7,000-run mark in Test cricket. If he does so, he will become just the 13th English player to reach the landmark.

Meanwhile, the match remains finely poised heading into lunch on the final day. England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley made a strong start, putting together an unbeaten 117-run partnership in pursuit of the challenging 371-run target set by India. Duckett remained not out on 64, while Crawley was unbeaten on 42.