Ben Stokes provided a solid innings which took England to a much step closer for victory but his wicket put Australia in command again and they won the match by 43 runs. Australia now lead the Ashes series 2-0.
England started their day with their day 4 score of 114/4 and both Stokes and Duckett put on a solid 132 runs for the 5th wicket. Both of them play sensible and hit the loose ball and score well. But Hazelwood broke their partnership by taking the wicket of Duckett. He scored 83 runs.
Then next came Bairstow, but he got out early and Green sent him off. There were few words exchanged between the English batters and Aussies, but soon all of them calmed down. He departs after scoring 10 runs. At this point Stokes took the charge and started showing his destructive approach and started hitting sixes and fours. He also got some lifeline where he was dropped two times. He along with Broad who also shows his defense and gives most of the chance to Stokes, together made 108 runs partnership. Again Hazelwood breaks the good looking partnership by taking Stokes wicket. He made a brilliant 155 runs in 214 balls which includes 9 sixes and 9 fours.
After that Cummins took Robinson out of the ground. He scored only 1 run. Stuart Broad’s patience also gives up and he tries to hit the bouncer of Hazelwood and Green takes the catch in the fine leg. He departs at 11 runs. For the last wicket Tongue and Anderson delayed the victory for Australia little but at last Starc took the bails of Tongue and Aussies won their 2nd match. England scored 327/10.
Steve Smith Awarded Player of the Match, he said,
On asking about Ben Stokes– “He is an unbelievable player. He is a freak for what he can pull off in cricket- in different formats, on this ground, in this country, he has done some incredible things. He was targeting the short end, and the first shot that he tried the other end, he got out.”
On dropping the Stokes catch– “I didn’t pick it initially, quite difficult square of the wicket to pick the ball and eventually put it down. Difficult giving such guys a life, fortunately hit one up the chimney later on.”
On first Innings– “I think it was important to get a decent total on the board, we were looking to bowl as well looking at the overheads. To be able to navigate that stage and put up a decent total helped us out. Incredible game of cricket.”
Against short ball play– “It was a bit two-paced with variable bounce, wasn’t easy and there wasn’t much on offer when you pitched the ball up. So it was one way to shut the scoring and both teams kept playing rash shots.”
Lyon Batting– “They play a dangerous brand and we never know what is safe. Nathan showed great courage and got us some valuable runs in the end.”
Ben Stokes, England Captain said:
Innings he Played– “Having experienced something similar, you are able to look back at it. Did take a lot out of Headingley but unfortunately not to be. Definitely felt we had a shout, but Australia changed their plans and that changed things for me. I had to take my risks to the longer side of the ground. Tough one to swallow, but it was a fantastic game.
….We are 2-0 down but we got 3 games to go. We have 3-0 against Pakistan, 3-0 against NZ so we have the belief that we can do it. Quite some factors about that dismissal I was looking at the umpires if they had called the over, they said no. At the end of the day, it is out. If the shoe was on the other foot, I’d probably have to think about this atmosphere and decide what to do. It has happened, it is out! When you win the toss and bowl, you want to restrict them under 300 and the first day the lads got criticism, but the number of times the ball missed the bat was frustrating.
…..Great effort from the guys to keep bowling that way. The effort and energy everyone has put in can’t be faulted. In the end, we have lost the Test match but lots of positives take.”
Their first innings approach– “Reckless is an easy word to use, what me and Brenden have done is give guys complete clarity. We don’t ask them to play a certain way, but if they play a certain way they have the full backing of the dressing room. So the message out there is to play with clarity. I might play a different bowler than someone else but when we are walking out there we have complete clarity.”
About Josh Tongue– “First game against Ireland I didn’t know him well, I knew him as a great prospect. He has been brilliant. Great find for us, incredible the way he took responsibility and bowled for us. Quick turnaround now and we are 2-0 down, but we can make it 3-2.”
Pat Cummins, Australian Skipper said,
“Another wonderful game, right down to the wire. Crowd seems to enjoy it. Stokesy gave us some nervous moments. A world class player like him, you start thinking the boundaries are too small. There wasn’t much on the surface as well. We tried to stay patient, have the field out and stuck with it. Happy to go 2-0 up.”
On Bairstow wicket– “I think Carey saw it a few balls previous, there was no pause, he catches it and throws it straight to the stumps. I thought it was totally fair play. That’s the rule, some people might disagree but just like the catch yesterday, the rule is there and that is the way I saw it.”
On Nathan Lyon– “These were perfect conditions for him on day 5, to win without him was a great win. I wasn’t too happy to see him walk out to bat but he was keen to get out there. He did amazing and those 15-20 runs were crucial. The way the batters played under lights on the first day was amazing.”Did Nathan Lyon rule out– “I think so, but we have Todd Murphy who did an amazing job in India so he will be sticking around for us.”