3 all-rounders to have scored 6000 runs and taken 200 wickets in Tests ft. Ben Stokes

The opening Test between England and the West Indies has probably all been about retiring legend James Anderson and debutant Gus Atkinson after his heroics with the ball in the first innings.

Meanwhile, England's red-ball skipper, Ben Stokes, etched his name in history books, this time joining an elite list with a unique record. Few cricketers can stack up a pile of runs and pick up heaps of wickets at the same time. And that is where the all-rounders come in. Only three all-rounders in Test cricket history have amassed more than 6,000 runs and over 200 wickets.

In the second innings of the ongoing fixture, Ben Stokes became only the third of these all-rounders to have scored 6,000 plus runs and picked 200 or more wickets in the longest format of the game.

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3 all-rounders who scored 6,000 runs and taken 200 wickets in Tests

#3 Ben Stokes

In the ongoing first Test between England and West Indies at Lord's, English skipper Ben Stokes became only the third player to have achieved this historic feat.

In the second innings of West Indies batting, Stokes picked up the wicket of Kirk McKenzie, his 200th wicket in the format. Moreover, he has scored 6,320 runs in the format (as of July 11, 2024), including 13 hundreds and 31 fifties, with a memorable best of 258 against South Africa in January 2016.

His bowling average stands at 31.75 after he sent McKenzie back for a duck, while his batting average stands at 35.31. It took Stokes 103 games to join this elite list, making him arguably one of the best all-rounders in the format.

Despite his fair share of injuries, he has managed to get himself on the field and make vital contributions.

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#2 Sir Garfield Sobers

On this elite list is probably one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, with an exemplary career, none other than Sir Garfield Sobers.

The West Indies legend ended his Test career with 8032 runs to go with 235 wickets. He played 93 games, only 10 fewer compared to Stokes. With 26 hundred and 30 fifties, he had a staggering average of 57.78.

With the ball, Sir Garfield Sobers recorded 6 five-wicket and 8 four-wicket hauls in his career, averaging 34.03. The Barbados all-rounder is also the second fastest to 6,000 runs, taking 111 games to reach the milestone.

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#1 Jacques Kallis

South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis is another massive name on this list, completing the trio. Kallis goes down as one of the greatest all-rounders to have embraced the game of cricket.

Kallis has had a long and mighty successful career in both one-day cricket and the longest format. Kallis scored 13,289 runs in 166 test games, with a batting average of 55.37.

He is only behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) in the runs list with 45 tons and 58 half-centuries. Further, Kallis has 292 wickets to his name at an average of 32.65, 5 five-wicket hauls, and 7 four-wicket hauls.