Picture Credit: Twitter
England's newly appointed Test captain Ben Stokes is gearing up for his upcoming role as leader of the Three Lions in the purest form of the game. The all-rounder is currently playing for Durham in what his return match for them in the County Divison 2 game against Worcestershire.
The New Zealand-born cricketer looks determined to make this season count and has already brought up a hundred in this game. In fact, there was all the flamboyance and swagger in this innings that one has come to associate with Stokes over the years. The left-handed batter went from 70 to 100 in a matter of 5 balls with 5 successive sixes off left-arm orthodox Josh Baker.
Whatsmore, he did not stop at that and even sent the last ball of the over for a boundary to accumulate 34 runs in that over.
Have a look at the over here:
Quickfire hundred from Stokes coupled with centuries from David Bedingham and Sean Dickson has put Durham in the driver's seat for now with over 500 runs on the board on Day 2 after opting to bat first.
Earlier after being appointed the captain of the Test team, the 30-year-old had said that he wants ‘selfless cricketers’ in his team.
"It is a challenge, especially after the last few years," Stokes told Sky Sports.
"There’s a lot that needs to change, not only on the field, and those discussions will be had," he added.
“I want to have selfless cricketers who make decisions based on what they can do to win a game in that given time. You’re always judged on winning games, and the decisions I make are based around the best thing to do to give us that chance," he further said.
"I want to have 10 other guys with me who are in that same mindset," he shared.
Stokes’s first match in charge will be against the reigning world Test champions New Zealand who will be touring England for a three-match Test series with the first Test starting at the Lord's on June 2.