Page 2 - Ben Stokes

Stokes to Sachin: Full list of players who played 100 Test matches and more

England's Anderson & Joe Root, Australia's Lyon and Smith, India's Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar and Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews are the only active cricketers who have played more than 100 Tests

IND vs ENG, Rajkot Test: Ben Stokes' journey to 100 Tests in numbers

32-year-old Ben Stokes is the only player alongside West Indien legend Gary Sobers and South Africa's Jacques Kallis to score more than 6000 Test runs and take more than 190 wickets

IND vs ENG 3rd Test Day 1 Highlights: Jadeja, Rohit hit 100s; India 326/5

India vs England 3rd Test Day 1 Highlights: Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja hit centuries while Sarfaraz Khan won hearts with his quickfire 62 as India dominated the English bowlers at Rajkot

IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Stokes opens up on his 100th Test landmark in Rajkot

England captain Ben Stokes tried hard to be self-effacing on the eve of his 100th Test appearance, saying "milestones are what they are" but he is looking forward to the "theatre" that would come with playing the marquee game against a star-studded India. Stokes will become the 16th England player to appear in 100 Tests when he will lead the side out in the third Test against India here on Thursday. In the pre-match press conference, the dashing big-hitter tried his best to downplay the hype around his achievement. "Milestones are what they are. I've always enjoyed playing against India because of the contest, the theatre it brings," he said in a brief reply when asked about his thoughts on the match. The series is currently locked 1-1 after England won the opener in Hyderabad before India bounced back to claim the second in Visakhapatnam. Stokes said his mind is focused on decoding the conditions and having a solid strategy in place for the crucial game. "You look down and there'

IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Stokes lauds BCCI for great job on Rehan's visa issue

England skipper Ben Stokes on Wednesday expressed relief after young leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed's visa issue was sorted in quick time due to the intervention of the Indian government and the BCCI. Ahmed, the spinner of Pakistani descent, had a single-entry visa upon arrival in Rajkot but he was able to complete his paperwork a day before the start of the third Test against India. "For any individual having to wait for that is always an anxious period, but thankfully, we got it through this morning, and great job from the guys at the airport for giving him his visa to get through initially, and everyone at the BCCI and the government to get the visa quickly," Stokes said ahead of the third Test. "We do not have to worry anymore about those issues, we were very confident that we would get the visa for Rehan before the game started," he added. Earlier, before the start of the series, off-spinner Shoaib Bashir also faced visa issue and arrived in Hyderabad on the third day of the first ..

IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Rajkot pitch report, stats, win and loss records

Only two Tests have been played in Rajkot so far and India has won one and drawn another. They had to settle for a draw against England in 2016

India vs England 3rd Test Playing 11: India makes four changes in its XI

The India vs England 3rd Test live telecast will be available on Sports 18 HD/SD. Jio Cinemas will provide the live streaming of the India vs England Test match in India for free.

Ben Stokes has changed cricket in a lot of respects, says Ollie Pope

England captain Ben Stokes has changed the game of cricket in a "lot of respects", says batter Ollie Pope, as the maverick all-rounder gears up for his 100th Test appearance in a couple of days' time. Stokes, who has carved a niche for himself by playing some of the most outstanding knocks in the history of the sport in high pressure situations, has also produced a fine example of himself as a leader by inventing a new approach to Test cricket known as 'Bazball'. Having also played a vital role in England's white-ball revival, Stokes is on the cusp of joining the list of players in Test cricket history who have played more than 100 games. "He has probably changed the game in a lot of respects, he has just got a way of bringing out the very best of him when the team needs it. Even in the Ashes at Lord's, which I remember thinking about 'how does he obviously take it to a new level when all the pressure is on him'," Pope told the media here at the SCA Stadium after England's training

IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Rehan Ahmed attributes spinners' success to leadership

Exceeding expectations, England's inexperienced spinners have outperformed their seasoned Indian counterparts in the first two Tests, and young Rehan Ahmed attributed it to team environment and Ben Stokes' leadership. The five-match series is level at 1-1 at the moment but, amazingly enough, spin is one area in which the tourists have emerged winners. It is quite remarkable that the trio of Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir have taken more wickets (33) than the formidable group made up of titans such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav (23). "That just shows how great the team environment is," Ahmed, 19, was quoted as saying in BBC. "Tommy and Bash, you've seen them come in and not be nervous and that's credit to the team. "The environment and the leadership we have, it does make you kind of forget the players you are playing against - we just focus on what we need to do." Even in terms of economy rate, the England spin attack is ahead of the

IND vs ENG: Vaughan slams England for Abu Dhabi trip before 3rd Test

Michael Atherton revealed that the England team will enjoy the break in Abu Dhabi and have some golf swings. The India vs England Test series is level at 1-1 after first two tests.

Technology got it wrong on this occasion: Stokes on Crawley's lbw decision

England captain Ben Stokes on Monday felt his opening batter Zak Crawley was at the receiving end of a wrong' DRS call for an LBW, after going down against India in the second Test. Crawley was England's best batter in the game, scoring 76 and 73 in his two innings. On day four, he blended caution with aggression to put the Indian bowlers under pressure before being adjudged LBW off Kuldeep Yadav in a close DRS call before lunch. On the sixth ball of his first over, Kuldeep got one to turn back in from middle stump. It seemed the ball was going down leg but DRS showed that it was hitting the leg-stump. Stokes did not seem to agree with the DRS call. Technology in the game is obviously there. Everyone has an understanding of the reasons it can never be 100% which is why we have the umpire's call. That's why it's in place. When it's not 100% as everyone says, I don't think it's unfair for someone to say I think the technology has got it wrong on this occasion', Stokes said after the

Jaiswal 200 to Bumrah 150: 10 key takeaways from India vs England 2nd Test

part from Jaiswl and Bumrah, Zak Crawley, James Anderson and Shubman Gill also contributed immensely to make it a great red-ball drama that kept the audiences hooked on all four days in Vizag

IND vs ENG 2nd Test highlights: India level series, beat ENG by 106 runs

Ashwin has to wait for the Rajkot Test to reach the milestone of 500 wickets. He has 499 wickets in 97 Test matches. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers in Vizag with nine wickets in the Test match

IND vs ENG 2nd Test Day 3 Highlights: Chasing 399 to win, England 67/1

India vs England 2nd Test Day 3 highlights: R Ashwin took the only wicket to fall in the England second innings as the visitors stared their chase of 399 and got to 67/1

IND vs ENG: England's highest successful run chase in Test histrory & India

387 is the highest successful run chase in India in Test cricket history. Under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, England highest successful run chase is 378 runs for the loss of three wickets vs India

IND vs ENG 2nd Test Day 2 Highlights: Bumrah the star as India lead by 171

India vs England 2nd Test Day 2 Live Cricket Updates: Jasprit Bumrah picked six wickets as he reached 150 Test scalps and bowled England out for 253. India lead by 171 runs at the end of day's play

IND vs ENG: Stokes keeps his promise with Root, makes 'a bowler' out of him

Ben Stokes had promised Joe Root to make a bowler out of him and the maverick England skipper is glad that he has succeeded in his mission, evidence of which were the five wickets the top batter picked in a famous win. England's best batter Root was also their best bowler in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test against India and ended with five wickets in the game. He picked up the key wicket of K L Rahul in the second innings, following his four wickets in the first, to play a major part in England's sensational comeback win. Root got the ball to turn at good pace and his straighter one also troubled the Indian batters. With Jack Leach out of second Test, Root will be expected to shoulder more responsibility in an experienced spin department. He bowled a total of 48 overs in the series opener. "I did always say to Joe I thought he under-bowled himself as captain, and when he walked off with four-fer I did say to him, 'see, I told ya I'd make a bowler out of ya'. "Having someo

India vs England 2nd Test Playing 11: Rajat Patidar makes debut for India

IND vs ENG 2nd Test Playing 11: Mohammed Siraj has been rested, and Mukesh Kumar replaced him in India's XI while Kuldeep Yadav playing in place of injured Ravindra Jadeja. Patidar replaces KL Rahul.

IND vs ENG 1st Test: Definitely greatest triumph as captain for Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes rated the 28-run victory over India in the first Test here on Sunday as the finest moment yet in his time as the England captain. Fuelled by Ollie Pope's epic 196 and debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley's seven-wicket haul, England roared back into the match even after conceding a massive 190-run first innings lead. "Since I've taken the captaincy on, we've had a lot of fantastic moments as a team. We've had a lot of great victories. "We've been involved in some amazing games. But I think where we are and who we're playing against, this victory is definitely our greatest triumph since I've been captain," said Stokes in the post-match press meet. Stokes kept faith in Hartley despite a below-par outing in the first innings. The Durham man explained the rationale. "I was willing to give him the longer spell regardless of what had happened (in the first innings) because I knew I was going to have to turn back to him at some point throughout this Test match. "Whether or

Hartley, Pope and Jaiswal: 10 key takeaways from India vs England 1st Test

England beat India by 28 runs as Bazball won the first battle on Indian shores. Here are the major talking points from the match in Hyderabad