Ben Stokes warmed up for his England captaincy role with some brutal hitting during Durham's County Championship match against Worcestershire at New Road on Friday. (More Cricket News)
Batting for the first time since being appointed England Test cricket team captain, Stokes raced to a 64-ball century in a stunning knock that featured a County record 17 sixes.
During his 161-run innings, the 30-year-old also hit five consecutive sixes and a four off Josh Baker in an over.
Watch it here:
It's the second time Stokes has hit five consecutive sixes in a County Championship game, having also performed the feat against Hampshire in 2011.
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Ben Stokes thus broke the earlier record of 16 sixes in a First-class county game which was jointly held by Australian Andrew Symonds for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan in 1995 and Graham Napier for Essex against Surrey in 2011.
His 64-ball century is the fastest in First-class cricket by a Durham player, eclipsing Paul Collingwood's previous mark of 75 deliveries set at Taunton in 2005.
Stokes finally fell after lunch as Durham declared on 580 for 6. He shared a 220-run stand for the fifth wicket with David Bedingham (135).
He came to the crease early on the second morning when Scott Borthwick was trapped leg before by Ben Gibbon and, after a steady start, produced an awesome display of power hitting.
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On April 29, Ben Stokes was formally named England Test captain. The all-rounder will take over the top job from the outgoing Joe Root, who stepped down after England's troubled tours of Australia and the West Indies.
(With PTI inputs)
