Ben Stokes Makes History As Test Cricket Captain With THIS Unique Record

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England started their 2023 home summer with a resounding 10-wicket victory over Ireland in the one-off Test at Lord's in London. Led by Ben Stokes, the English side dominated the match, showcasing their strength in both batting and bowling. The inexperienced Irish team, relatively new to Test cricket at this level, struggled to match the prowess of their opponents. Despite their defeat, Ireland found a silver lining in the form of getting England to bat again, as mentioned by their skipper Andy Balbirnie.

Ben Stokes is the first captain in test history to win the match without batting,bowling and wicketkeeping.
Easy life for @benstokes38 _!#BenStokes #Kohli #WorldTestChampionship2023 #WTC23 #WTCFinal #Williamson #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/HHMlvuhuR1

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Stuart Broad's impressive five-wicket haul in the first innings limited Ireland to a meagre total of 172 runs. In response, England's batsmen flourished, with Ollie Pope achieving his maiden double century and Ben Duckett falling just 18 runs short of the milestone. Contributions from Joe Root and Zak Crawley helped England amass a massive score of 524/4 before declaring. Although Ireland managed to overcome a top-order collapse in their second innings, thanks to debutant Josh Tongue, their efforts fell short of mounting a serious challenge against England's lead of 352 runs.

Notably, Ben Stokes made history by becoming the first Test cricket captain to win a match without participating in batting, bowling, or keeping duties. He didn't deliver a single over in both innings and opted to declare the innings after the fall of the fourth wicket, denying himself and Jonny Bairstow a chance to bat.

Both teams treated this match as a preparatory fixture, with their sights set on different objectives. England used it as a stepping stone towards the upcoming Ashes series, scheduled to commence in less than two weeks at Edgbaston. Meanwhile, Ireland utilized the game to gear up for the World Cup qualifiers, slated to take place next month in Zimbabwe.