England and Australia's fifth Ashes Test took a fascinating route on Day 3 of the contest when England continued their onslaught over the Aussies. The hosts smoked 389 runs on a single day of the match at Kennington Oval, London with Joe Root leading the charge with his 91 off 106 balls. Several other batters including Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes also made notable contributions in an aggressive batting display. Meanwhile, the English captain shattered a huge all-time record in the series.
Ben Stokes shattered former English batter Kevin Pietersen's all-time record of most sixes hit in a single Ashes series. The Southpaw struck just one maximum in the fifth Test but his long hits over the previous matches made him the record holder, dethroning Pietersen. Stokes has smoked 15 sixes in his outrageous batting display in the 2023 Ashes series, taking his tally one above the former English star, who hit 14 in the famous 2005 series. This tally is joint second-most hit by any batter in a Test series as Stokes levelled West Indies' star Shimron Hetmyer. The Windies star hit 15 sixes in just a two-match series against Bangladesh in 2019.
Stokes fall a little short of Rohit Sharma
However, despite his power-hitting Stokes could not leapfrog India captain Rohit Sharma. The Indian opener leads the chart of most maximums hit in a single Test series. Sharma smoked 19 sixes in the 2019 South Africa series and leads the way comprehensively.
Stokes hit the 15-six mark with a maximum off a pull-shot on Day 3 of the 5th Test which was palmed to the fence by Aussie player Mitchell Starc. This was his only six in the match. He was dismissed for 42 by Todd Murphy. Meanwhile, the English captain achieved batting nirvana in the second innings of the second Test where he hit nine and almost took his team over the line but fall short by 43 runs. Stokes did not hit a single six in the opening Test at Edgbaston but hit 5 in the third one at his loved ground Headingley.
