Ben Stokes came up with another important innings for England to keep their hopes of winning the third Test at Headingley alive; the captain cracked 80, which included five sixes; watch day three from 10.15am, Saturday, Sky Sports Cricket (11am first ball)
Saturday 8 July 2023 10:16, UK
They have been playing Test-match cricket at Headingley since 1899 and there are plenty of individual game-changing innings which have become part of the lore of the Leeds venue in the intervening 124 years.
The Ashes clashes played in this corner of West Yorkshire could fill a library alone. Take your pick of the match-winning centuries from Arthur Morris and Don Bradman in 1934, Ian Botham's unbeaten 149 from 148 balls in one of the defining moments of the 1981 series, or even Mark Butcher's blistering 173 not out in a rare bright spot for England in 2001 for starters.
Ben Stokes already has his own place in Headingley history from four years ago too with an unbeaten 135 which saw England chase down a record fourth-innings target of 362 to beat Australia. His 80 in the first innings this time around, however, may well prove to be just as vital.
With the hosts languishing on 142-7 at lunch on day two and still trailing Australia's first-innings total by 116, England's skipper was left with little choice but to go on the offensive with the bat and by the time he was the final batter out that was down to 26, keeping his side's chances of winning this match and slim hopes of overturning a 2-0 series deficit alive.
"The captain found himself backed into a corner after he was left high and dry by the middle-order batters," Butcher, whose highest Test score secured that six-wicket win for the hosts 22 years ago, told Sky Sports Cricket.
"When he gets himself in a situation where he knows it is just on him to score the runs, he is unbelievably good at consistently finding the boundary."
Stokes did have a helping hand in the unlikely form of Mark Wood, with the Durham bowler carting Mitchell Starc over square for six the first ball after lunch as he cracked 24 from just eight balls - the highest score by an England player in Test cricket history off that few deliveries.
That rapidly upped a run-rate which had been plodding along at a relatively pedestrian, by 'Bazball' standards, 2.90 per over in the morning session and Stokes carried that on when opposite number Pat Cummins threw the ball to spinner Todd Murphy.
The 22-year-old, playing only his fifth Test in place of the injured Nathan Lyon, had gone for just four runs from his four overs in the first session, but was clattered for 32 off just 3.3 overs before eventually having Stokes caught by Steve Smith as England were all out for 237.
In total, Stokes smashes five sixes, including one to bring up his half-century, which took him to a total of 38 against Australia. That is the most of any batter against one team in Test cricket, and 14 of those have come in this match at Headingley and last week's clash at Lord's alone.
"He's so adept at absorbing pressure when he has to and then being able to really cut loose," former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara told Sky Sports Cricket, reflecting on another destructive display from Stokes with the bat.
"Irrespective of the fields which are set to him, he finds the boundaries and because he's got so much power behind him, he finds sixes as well.
"Sometimes when you're batting, and I've faced this in my career as well, when you're batting with the tail the opposition often take their focus off you and concentrate on trying to get the other side out. That allows you to really maximise and score runs."
Stokes' 80 at Headingley followed a stunning 155 which kept England in with an unlikely chance of winning the second Test at Lord's before ultimately falling short, but Australia closing day two of the third match in the series on 116-4 means this contest is very much still in the balance.
That gives the tourists and Ashes holders a lead of 142 with six wickets in hand and England will be confident of chasing down whatever target is eventually set. However, former captain Nasser Hussain warned they cannot afford to leave it all to Stokes again after being frustrated by the batting from some of his team-mates.
"There's a bloke at the other end who can change the course of a game if you stay with him," Hussain told Sky Sports Cricket. "If you just keep hooking and get out, he's left scrambling with the tail and having a swipe.
"The moment the plan changes [from Australia] you have to change with the plan. There aren't the only two options of hook and get out or fend it and get out, the other option is let it go over your head. We saw it at Lord's.
"Learn from your mistakes - they're not learning from their mistakes."
Moeen Ali cautioned against an over-reliance on Stokes but always feels they have a shot at narrowing their current 2-0 deficit in the series if he is at the crease.
"Ben's a brilliant player," Moeen said. "He's the one player in the world who everyone will be thinking about in that situation, especially against Australia because he has done it a couple of times now.
"Whether it's a white ball or a red ball, as long as he's there you've always got a great chance of winning. It's the situations more than anything, he loves those situations, he thrives off them.
"We can't rely on him all the time. We do have dangerous players who we just need to come to the party as well as Ben. Ben's playing brilliantly but there are runs out there for other players."
Stokes called out the physiotherapist twice and took a couple of pain-killing tablets in the morning before cutting loose after lunch and Moeen hinted there may be more than the all-rounder is letting on.
"It's difficult, there's so much he's dealing with," Moeen said. "I think when I was batting he was a little bit sore. There's a lot more than he's showing. As long as he's batting well, he's fine.
"His body has obviously been through a lot but there's one thing with Ben, he can't do anything without it being 100 per cent. Hopefully, he'll get through this series well, scoring a lot more runs."
Watch day three of the third Ashes Test live on Sky Sports Cricket on Saturday. Build-up from 10.15am, first ball at 11am. You can stream the men's and women's Ashes series on NOW.
