Fastest 5000 runs in Test: Ben Stokes reaches rare milestone during West Indies vs England 2nd Test match at Barbados

Fastest 5000 runs in Test: England all-rounder Ben Stokes completed 5,000 runs in Test Cricket during the ongoing 2nd Test match versus WI.

During the second Test match of the ongoing England tour of West Indies at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, England’s flamboyant all-rounder Ben Stokes completed 5,000 runs in his Test career while also powering his team to a position of strength heading towards a massive first innings total.

Stokes’ landmark moment arrived just a couple of Overs before Lunch, during the 114th Over of England’s first innings.

Having smashed West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph for three consecutive Fours on the first three deliveries of the Over, Stokes smashed a powerful Six straight down the ground on the ultimate delivery to achieve the landmark feat in his 78th Test match for England.

Ben Stokes achieves rare double of 150 wickets and 5000 Test runs

The flamboyant all-rounder has also become only the fifth player in Test match history to complete 5,000 runs while also having picked over 150 Test wickets.

With 170 Test wickets under his belt already, the 30-year-old has joined the eminent club of Sir Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Jacques Kallis to achieve the rare double.

At the time of writing, Stokes was on the verge of smashing his 11th Test century.

Fastest 5000 runs in Test

Stokes completing the feat in his 143rd innings is, however, nowhere near to the legendary cricketer who holds the record by quite some distance.

The record for scoring the fastest 5,000 runs in Test Cricket is held by the legendary Aussie batter Sir Don Bradman, who achieved the landmark moment in only his 56th innings (36th Test match) against England at Leeds in 1938.

Placed miles ahead at the second spot is England’s Jack Hobbs, who completed the same during his 91st innings (55th Test match).

Amongst the active players, the fastest to the landmark number is Australia’s Steve Smith, who completed his 5000 Test runs in the year 2017, during his 97th innings (53rd Test match) for his country against India in Ranchi.