With England 2-0 down in The Ashes heading into the third Test at Headingley, we reflect on that Ben Stokes-inspired victory in Leeds four years ago; watch the third Test live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday, with the first ball at 11am
Thursday 6 July 2023 06:41, UK
Less than one week on from Lord's and Ben Stokes so nearly and spectacularly firing England to victory in the second Ashes Test, the captain returns to Headingley, the scene of his greatest triumph in 2019. With his side 2-0 down and looking for inspiration, we reflect on that remarkable finish in Leeds four years ago...
(A version of this article was first published in August 2019. It has been updated following the second men's Ashes Test at Lord's in July 2023)
"No way. No, no way. You cannot do that, Ben Stokes!"
England's remarkable 2019 summer started with some genius from Stokes, a stunning one-handed catch on the boundary in their Cricket World Cup opener against South Africa that prompted those exact words from Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain.
After then playing a major hand in some Super Over madness that saw England lift said World Cup, Stokes was again at the heart of a truly incredible win in the third Ashes Test at Headingley that summer, one to rival not only that late Lord's drama in mid-July but anything in cricket that has come before.
"I'm not sure I've seen anything better than that on a Test ground," was Australian great Ricky Ponting's reaction. "Some of that hitting today was just brilliant, but also the decision-making under the most extreme pressure."
Sir Ian Botham has 1981, Andrew Flintoff 2005; there can be no doubt that 2019 belongs to Stokes, no matter that the Ashes was ultimately tied 2-2, seeing Australia retain the urn.
England had gone into the fourth day of that Leeds Test bullish about their prospects of pulling off an unlikely victory, despite being three wickets down and still needing a further 203 runs to win.
"I rate our chances very highly," said Joe Denly, who had contributed a battling 50 on the third evening. "There is a lot of belief in that changing room, and excitement."
Stokes certainly had belief but, at that stage, with only two runs to his name from 50 balls, he gave no clue to the ridiculous ball-striking that was to come by mid-afternoon.
Instead, heading into the fourth morning, it was captain Joe Root who appeared key to England's chances, Sky Sports' Michael Atherton describing it at the time as 'Root's most important innings'.
So, when Root departed after only adding two to his overnight score of 75 and with Stokes accumulating 16 further dot balls before finally ticking off his first run of the day, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Test and the series were already lost.
Not so. Every single run emphatically cheered by a raucous home crowd, England began to tick them off; Stokes, supported nicely by Jonny Bairstow, reduced the equation to 121 by lunch.
But a chaotic hour later and Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes had all been and gone. Jofra Archer smited Nathan Lyon for a couple of boundaries to briefly raise hopes once more before getting carried away and holing out looking for another.
Stokes was running out of support but finally found a willing partner in last man Jack Leach, who arrived out in the middle with 73 runs still required and whose own 17-ball contribution must never be forgotten.
While Leach - who scored 92 as a night-watchman against Ireland only a month prior - can, and did, stick around, Stokes knew a change of approach was needed. Unbeaten on 61 from 174 balls at the time, he proceeded to smash 74 from his next 45 deliveries, including seven staggering sixes, to get England over the line. Not that that even begins to tell the whole story.
There was an extraordinary reverse-slog-sweep off Lyon for six, a ramp off Pat Cummins that also cleared the rope, 16 runs in three balls off Josh Hazlewood as he brought up his hundred. And paired with such clean ball-striking was absolute clarity of thought in the most pressure-fuelled scenario.
That's not to say there weren't moments of doubt. Stokes himself couldn't bear to watch a couple of Cummins' deliveries to Leach, nor the DRS decision when the tailender was struck on the pads with one of them - the ball crucially pitching outside leg.
There was Marcus Harris' drop of Stokes at third man - shades of Simon Jones at Edgbaston in '05 - when England were 17 short of victory. Then, with one run needed to tie, Lyon muffed a run-out chance - Leach stranded looking for that single - and Stokes could and should have been given out lbw next ball by Joel Wilson, Australia left to rue wasting their remaining review on the Leach shout.
Ultimately, Stokes was not to be denied, their titanic talisman letting out a huge roar when rewarded with the match-winning moment his innings so richly deserved, cut away for four.
"Incredible," said Stuart Broad, moments after England clinched the craziest of victories. "The bloke has got the heart of a lion.
"He didn't celebrate his fifty, didn't celebrate his hundred. It was just all about winning this Test match."
And lest we forget Stokes' lion-hearted effort with the ball on day two - bowling a 15-over spell unchanged, with Archer off the field with cramp - that initially dragged England back into the contest.
Such a thriller as the one that unfolded at Headingley four years ago hadn't been seen, certainly on these shores, since 2005 at Edgbaston and seemed unlikely to ever be repeated - until Lord's last week.
On that occasion, Stokes couldn't quite pull off the unthinkable and fire England single-handedly to victory over the imperious Aussies. But, with his side now 2-0 down and on the brink of the Ashes being gone again, who's to say he can't channel the spirit of Headingley this week and see his side back into the series?
It's Stokes. Stranger things have happened.
Watch the third Ashes Test live on Sky Sports Cricket from Thursday. Build-up starts at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am. You can stream the men's and women's Ashes series on NOW.
