Ben Stokes joins exclusive club as England all-rounder hits stunning century against West Indies

Ben Stokes joined an exclusive list of players to score 5,000 runs and take 150 wickets in Tests as the England all-rounder hit a stunning century against West Indies.

Stokes combined with England captain Joe Root to grind West Indies into the dirt on day two of the second Test in Bridgetown.

Root batted for the entirety of day one and the first session of day two, making a brilliant 153 from 316 balls after coming in at 4-1.

England’s skipper found support from Dan Lawrence on the opening day, with Essex’s middle-order batter scoring 91 before departing off the final ball of the day.

Stokes took over from Lawrence today, launching a brutal and impressive assault on the West Indies attack to score his 11th Test century off 114 balls.

In the process he reached 5,000 Test runs, becoming just the fifth player to reach the milestone while also taking 150 wickets.

Stokes also achieved the feat in fewer Tests than Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Jaques Kallis.

Looking for a hat-trick of sixes, Stokes was dismissed by West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite in the afternoon session but left England in a brilliant position on 424-6.

Hitting six sixes also saw Stokes climb four places in the list of all-time six-hitters in Test cricket. With 89, he is just 18 behind record-holder Brendon McCullum.

Stokes has largely struggled since he returned at the end of last year following a break from the sport and averaged just 23 with the bat in the Ashes defeat in Australia.

But he looked back to his best during his superb innings in Bridgetown as England looked to set up a victory following last week’s draw in Antigua.

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