Ben Stokes revives England at Headingley with 80 off 108 balls before Moeen Ali dismisses Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith; Australia 116-4 at stumps, leading by 142 - watch day three from 10.15am, Saturday, Sky Sports Cricket (11am first ball)
Saturday 8 July 2023 07:13, UK
Ben Stokes produced another heroic Headingley performance and Moeen Ali claimed his 200th Test wicket as England kept their Ashes hopes alive on a rip-roaring second day in Leeds.
Stokes - four years on from his match-winning 135 not out on this ground and five days hence from his 155 at Lord's - struck 80 from 108 while batting on one leg due to a glute issue to lift England from 142-7 to 237 all out as they conceded a first-innings deficit of just 26.
Off-spinner Moeen then removed Marnus Labuschagne (33) and Steve Smith (2) in quick succession before Chris Woakes nicked off Usman Khawaja (43) as Australia slipped from 68-1 to 90-4 before closing on 116-4 with a lead of 142 and first-innings centurion Mitchell Marsh (17no) at the crease alongside Travis Head (18no).
Labuschagne and Smith were guilty of tame dismissals - Labuschagne swept Moeen into the deep two balls after being dropped by Jonny Bairstow, while Smith clipped to midwicket before being angered by Bairstow waving him off with the words 'See ya, Smudge'.
The entertainment also included Stuart Broad vaporising David Warner (1) for the 17th time in Ashes cricket.
Ollie Robinson (back spasm) did not bowl and neither did Stokes but the depleted attack built on their captain's work with the bat as they look to stop Australia - 2-0 up in the five-match series - from retaining the Ashes at the earliest possible opportunity.
The variable bounce this pitch is now generating could make the fourth-innings chase a tough one, although the home side will be buoyed by recent Headingley history with West Indies reaching 332 in 2017 and England knocking off 359 against Australia in 2019 and then 269 versus New Zealand last summer.
Stokes was on 27 from 67 balls at lunch, which was taken after Moeen (21) and Woakes (7) had been bounced out to follow the early-morning dismissals of Joe Root (19) and Bairstow (12) after England resumed on 68-3 and trailing by 195.
Mark Wood (24 off 8) initially brought the impetus with a boundary-laden cameo as England started the second session 121 runs in arrears, slamming his first three balls for six, four and six off Mitchell Starc and adding another maximum off the six-wicket Pat Cummins before he holed out two balls later.
That was the trigger for Stokes to ignite, evoking memories of his stunning knock here in 2019 as he nailed three fours in a row off Starc, two in an over off Cummins and then twice crunched back-to-back sixes off spinner Todd Murphy, who is only playing following Nathan Lyon's series-ending calf injury at Lord's.
Stokes - dropped twice in as many balls on 45, by Starc and then Murphy - eventually picked out Smith at long-on as he attempted to smoke two sixes in a row off Murphy for a third time.
Smith's catch, his fifth of the innings, saw him equal Sir Ian Botham's record of 54 in Ashes cricket, with his 53rd coming as he took a blinder on the deep-square boundary to remove Broad off Cummins.
Skipper Stokes bossed stands of 32 and 38 with Broad (7) and Robinson (5) respectively as England, thanks also to Wood's brief blast, added 95 for their final three wickets.
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain had branded England's late-morning batting as "daft" after Moeen and Woakes flapped against short balls, with the pundit frustrated the pair hadn't "played for Stokes".
Moeen, who had initially steadied England from 87-5 alongside Stokes, top-edged Cummins to Smith at fine leg straight after the fielder had been moved to that spot, while Woakes clipped the same bowler behind as he went on the pull.
Stokes strode to the middle after just two balls on Friday morning, replacing Root after the former skipper edged Cummins to Warner.
Bairstow slashed Starc to Smith inside the first half hour and from there it was a period of rebuilding - although Moeen would have been run out on six had Cummins' shy at the stumps been accurate.
Stokes remained calm as he watched Wood dump three sixes into the stands, but then flicked the switch like he has done so many times before - and less than a week since he had last done it.
The all-rounder's knock at Lord's came in vain and he will now be hoping his Headingley hitting does not prove futile, too.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali: "The body is surprisingly good. I will be stiff tomorrow but the finger is alright. It is sore but it is just getting through the first few overs then settling in nicely.
"I am really enjoying it, the environment is amazing. The captain is amazing for someone like myself. He knows my type of bowling is trying to take wickets.
"I thought at one point we were struggling with the bat, then Stokesy played an amazing innings."
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.
