Newly-appointed England Test captain Ben Stokes hit a County Championship record of 17 sixes in an innings en route to smashing 161 on his first Durham appearance of the summer.
Stokes marked his first first-class innings since being appointed England captain with a breathtaking 161 off 126 balls for Durham against Worcestershire at New Road, including five sixes in an over, and 17 in total -- a new record for county cricket.
He 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.
Stokes raced to his hundred in 64 balls, sharing 220 for the fifth wicket with David Bedingham (135).
The 30-year-old brought up his century -- the fastest in first-class cricket by a Durham player -- with five successive sixes off Josh Baker, 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 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.
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.
