International cricket returns with the historic England – West Indies series starting on July 8 at the Ageas Bowl and while we can’t wait for the action, the players themselves might be itching to get back into the thick of things. The focus is on the resumption of cricket but once the first hour of play is done, the players should be back in the swing of things. As live cricket resumes, we take a glance at some players and the records they are on the brink of breaking.
Jason Holder
- Jason Holder has 1,898 Test runs and needs just 102 more to become the 38th West Indian to reach the 2,000 runs in Test cricket.
- If he does get there, Holder will be just the third Windies player to score 2,000 runs and take 100 wicket.
- If they do win the series win, it will be the second away series win under Jason Holder’s captaincy. West Indies’ only away series win under Holder came in 2017 in Zimbabwe.
Kemar Roach
- Kemar Roach has 193 Test wickets and needs seven more to become the 9th West Indies bowler to 200 Test wickets.
- The last West Indies bowler to take 200 Test wickets was in 1994. Since then, for 26 years, the Windies haven’t had a bowler in Tests take 200 wickets.
Chris Woakes, James Anderson and Stuart Broad
- Chris Woakes has 95 Test wickets and if he gets to 100 Test wickets, he will be the 8th Englishman to the feat.
- James Anderson needs 7 catches to become the 10th Englishman and 39th fielder overall (wicket-keepers excluded) to reach 100 Test catches.
- If Anderson gets 18 wickets in the series, he will become the first England bowler to take 100 wickets against West Indies in Test cricket. Currently, Glenn McGrath is the only bowler to take 100 wickets in Tests against West Indies.
- Stuart Broad is 15 wickets shy of the incredible feat of 500 Test wickets. When he gets there, he will be the seventh bowler to the feat.
Ben Stokes
- Ben Stokes is just three wickets away from becoming the 24th England bowler to take 150 Test wickets.
- When he leads the team out at Ageas Bowl, Stokes will be leading a side for the first time in first-class, List A and T20 levels. The last Englishman to lead the national team with no prior captaincy experience was Kevin Pietersen.
Rory Burns
- Rory Burns needs just 21 runs to complete the feat of 1000 Test runs as opener. He is set to be the 28th England opener to the feat if he gets there while opening the batting.
Shane Dowrich
- Shane Dowrich needs 56 runs to become the 43rd West Indian to 1500 Test runs. If he gets 158 more runs as the designated keeper in the series, he will become just the fifth West Indian keeper to make 1500 Test runs.
Joe Root
- Joe Root missing the first Test means that it will be the first time he will be missing an England Test match in six years. He has played 77 games on the trot for England starting 12 June 2014.