The third Test of the 2019 Ashes series holds a significant place in the history of red-ball cricket. One of the greatest all-rounders, Ben Stokes became England’s superhero on August 25 by helping them to a stunning one-wicket win at Headingley. He single-handedly snatched victory from the Aussies and put his unbeaten 135* on the list of all-time greatest Test knocks.
Australia opened the series with a massive 251-run victory at Birmingham and they followed it up with a draw at Lord’s. Tim Paine and Co. headed to Leeds full of confidence and they even got a promising start when their bowlers dismantled the hosts in the first innings.
Invited to bat first, Australia posted 179 runs on the back of half-centuries from David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne. England, in reply, looked clueless as they were bundled out for just 67 runs. The visitors added 246 more runs to their tally and set a massive target of 359.
It looked like the hosts were going to endure another batting collapse as both the openers Rory Burns and Jason Roy fell cheaply early on. But then then-England captain Joe Root and Joe Denly rose to the occasion by adding a 100-plus run partnership. After their dismissal, the onus was on Stokes and Johnny Bairstow to take the team home.
Stokes turns on his beast mode to pull off a miracle
Bairstow looked promising but he departed after making 36 off 68 balls. England then started to lose back-to-back wickets as Stokes ran out of partners at the other end. The scoreboard eventually read 286-9, with England needing 73 more runs to win.
Realizing that there was no point in taking a defensive approach, Stokes switched gears, keeping last man Jack Leach rock solid at the crease. He raced to his century in quick time and took England near the finish line. The last two overs witnessed a lot of drama but ultimately it was Stokes and Leach who stood tall at Headingley.
Notably, that was the highest successful fourth-innings chase in England Test history and the tenth-highest of all time. Stokes’ gritty knock (135* off 219) included eleven boundaries and eight sixes. He scored 75 runs from the last 42 balls he faced.