Ben Stokes: 5 facts about England's new cricket captain

Ben Stokes has been announced as the new captain of the England Test cricket team.

He takes over from Joe Root who stepped down after five years as captain earlier this month.

"I am honoured to be given the chance to lead the England Test team," said Stokes.

"This is a real privilege, and I'm excited about getting started this summer."

Stokes' first Test as permanent England captain will be against world champions New Zealand on 2 June.

The all-rounder (meaning he can bat and bowl) has already scored 5,061 runs and taken 174 wickets in 79 Tests and had been vice-captain across two spells since 2017.

But, what else do we know about the cricket star? Read on to find out our fun facts...

He's originally from New Zealand

Stokes' first Test as permanent England captain will be against New Zealand in June

Ben was born in New Zealand and moved to the UK at the age of 12.

His dad was a New Zealand rugby league player and coach, whilst his mother was from England.

They moved to the UK when Ben's dad got a job as head coach of Workington Town rugby league club.

He has an OBE!

Ben with his OBE

Ben was given an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2020.

It was presented to him by The Duke of Cambridge for his services to cricket.

2020 was a big year for Ben as he was also ranked the top Test all-rounder in the world in July 2020.

He has a Harry Potter related nickname!

Some of the England players have nicknamed Ben and his teammate Jonny Bairstow, the 'Weasley Twins', after the characters from the Harry Potter series.

Hmm, wonder if it's because of their ginger hair?

He's won SPOTY!

In the summer of 2019 Stokes gave two incredible performances.

He was man of the match as England won the World Cup for the first time with a dramatic victory against New Zealand.

He then hit an unbeaten 135 runs in the Ashes Test win against Australia.

He said at the time: "Me and many other people around England will always be able to look back on this year with amazing memories. I think we managed to inspire the next generation this year, which is an amazing thing to look back on."

The performances saw him named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December 2019.

He likes tattoos

Ben has got LOTS of tattoos!

Some of Ben's tattoos include a giant lion on his back and lyrics from Drake songs.

Another one on his arm reads, 'Being the best that you can be is only possible if you desire to be a champion and your fear of failure is non-existent.'