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The captain has usurped the coach.
England skipper Ben Stokes now holds the record for most sixes in test cricket after hitting his 108th on day three of the first test against the Black Caps.
Stokes lifted a short delivery from Scott Kuggeleijn over the fine leg boundary at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Saturday to pass the mark he had shared with former New Zealand captain – and now England test coach – Brendon McCullum.
Stokes repeated the shot to the next ball and should have been caught by Neil Wagner but the New Zealand fielder misjudged the boundary and couldn’t catch it without tumbling over the marker, giving Stokes his 109th test six.
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The visiting captain was dismissed soon after off the bowling of Michael Bracewell, having made 31 from 33 balls as England looked to set the Black Caps a challenging fourth-innings target for victory.
Stokes is playing in his 90th test match, and this was his 164th innings, meaning he averages 0.66 sixes per test innings.
Aaron Gillions/Photosport
Ben Stokes, pictured on day one of the test in Mt Maunganui on Thursday, has now hit more sixes than any other player in test cricket.
McCullum hit 107 sixes from 101 tests and 176 innings, at a rate of 0.61.
The only other player to have hit 100 test sixes is Australia’s Adam Gilchrist, with his exactly 100 coming from 96 matches and 137 innings – a rapid rate of 0.73 per knock.
The second New Zealander on the list for most test sixes is Chris Cairns, whose 87 maximums came from just 62 matches and 104 innings at a remarkable rate 0.84.
Of current players in the world game, the man closest to Stokes is Black Caps captain Tim Southee, who has struck 76 sixes, in 91 tests and 129 innings (0.59).
Most sixes in test cricket history:
109 – Ben Stokes (England)
107 – Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
100 – Adam Gilchrist (Australia)
98 – Chris Gayle (West Indies)
97 – Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
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