ENG vs NZ 2026: Ben Stokes joins Jacques Kallis after rewriting Test cricket history at Trent Bridge

England captain Ben Stokes joined an elite company alongside former South Africa great Jacques Kallis in becoming only the second player in Test cricket history to score 7,000 runs and take 250 wickets. This comes after the 35-year-old dismissed Mitchell Santner on Day 2 of the Third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Friday, June 26.

The rewriting of history books is significant for Stokes, who returned to the side as captain after missing the second Test due to the nightclub controversy. The all-rounder was on 247 wickets before the start of Day 2 and went on to take three scalps in the first session to reach the milestone. These included the wickets of Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke and the aforementioned Santner, joining Kallis in an incredibly select group. 

At the time of writing, Stokes has scored 7,228 runs in the longest format of the game to add to his 250 wickets. He is currently England’s ninth-highest wicket-taker in the five-day format, just five behind former teammate Graeme Swann, who is seventh on the leaderboard. 

Kallis, on the other hand, is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to grace Test cricket. The seam-bowling all-rounder went on to score an astronomical 13,289 runs while also taking 292 wickets. For the majority of his career, the right-hander played the role of a third seamer for South Africa, behind the likes of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. 

Stokes, meanwhile, has had a torrid time with the bat in recent times, with question marks raised about his place in the side as an all-rounder. The right-arm pacer, however, still remains one of England’s primary bowlers with the capability of taking wickets out of nowhere. 

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