Before you’ve realised it, England captain Ben Stokes, who made his debut in 2013, has  played in 99 Tests. He was spoken of as the next Ian Botham. He has, indeed, matched Botham’s achievements, and even surpassed some, having  scored in excess of 6,000 Test runs, picked up 197 wickets and held 105 catches in a glittering career so far. Botham, on the other hand, scored 5,200 runs, claimed 383 wickets and held on to 120 catches in 102 Tests.  And, Stokes has definitely been a better Test captain than Botham, winning 14 and losing only six in 21 Tests compared to Botham’s zero wins and four losses in 12 Tests as captain.

Come Thursday, the 32-year-old from Durham will be the 16th Englishman, and 76th in Test history, to play 100 Tests and more. Over the last two years, after taking over England’s Test captaincy from Joe Root and under the guidance of New Zealand’s former opener Brendon McCullum, Stokes has changed the way England play the long format. Gone are the days of the old, grinding, copybook style that cricket’s only nation to play in over 1,000 Tests have been known for.