The Irresistible Rise Of Ben Stokes

- Mohd Zunaid Parvej

England as a nation have contributed a lot to sports. This European country is the godfather of cricket, a sport which is played across the globe. The players from this place have gone on to establish themselves in their respective categories. Bowlers, batsmen and all-rounders from England have been superb throughout their respective career. After Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, English team was looking for an all-rounder who could pay rich dividends for at least a decade. It seems that their search is over with Ben Stokes making inroads in the confidence of the rival teams. England is playing exceptional cricket since last few months and Stokes is one of the prime reasons behind this purple patch. This talented star recently played a sublime knock in the second Test match against South Africa. He hit the second fastest double century and fastest 250 in Test history in a blistering assault on the South African bowlers on the second day of the second Test at Newlands. He broke the record of Virender Sehwag, who completed his double hundred off 168 balls against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in 2009. Only New Zealand’s Nathan Astle has reached a Test double hundred more quickly than Stokes, off 153 balls against England in 2002.