Ben Stokes, the dynamic all-rounder for England, has reached yet another landmark moment in his career by becoming the second-fastest cricketer to reach the milestone of 4000 runs and 150 wickets.
Stokes joined his compatriot Ian Botham in this elite league which also includes the likes of Garry Sobers, Kapil Dev, Jacques Kallis and Daniel Vettori.
Alzarri Joseph became the 150th victim of Stokes as the former missed a nipped-in delivery hitting the top of his off-stump.
In what had been a nightmarish day for English bowlers, the New Zealand-born cricketer finished his first innings with figures of 4 for 49.
Earlier in the match, Stokes got a crucial wicket of West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who looked indefatigable and battled hard to make 65- the highest score from Windies batsmen in the innings.
The stand-in captain for England was bowling consistently in right areas, compelling Windies batsmen to play and commit a mistake. He removed Shane Dowrich, another half-centurion of the match, who gave an easy catch behind the stumps to Jos Buttler.
Stokes’ third of the day, in a very fitting way, came against Windies captain Jason Holder and thus repaying the favour of the first inning when Holder got the better of Stokes.
However, among all four of his wickets, the dismissal of Joseph remains the most significant one. Adding to the fact that it was the 150th wicket of his career, of course, it came in an aesthetically pleasing way, and it was also one which truly encapsulates the resilience of English bowlers.
1️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ Test wickets for @benstokes38! 🦁
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/ldtEXLDT8V#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/ags39ezyP0
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 10, 2020
The Windies batting unit remained unflustered to the much-hyped pace and hostility of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, showing enough patience and composure to finish the first innings with a decisive 114 runs lead.
However, the match has taken an interesting turn as both Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley somehow survived the last ten overs of the day. England finished Day 3 with the scoreboard reading 15 without loss.
