THE ASHES NOTEBOOK: Ben Stokes nearly pulls of another Ashes heist
THE ASHES NOTEBOOK: Ben Stokes nearly pulls of another Ashes heist while Stuart Broad’s on-field verbals make for perfect viewing, as Australia get the full Galatasaray treatment at Lord’s
- Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes with a 43-run win at Lords on Sunday
- Ben Stokes’ remarkable 155 was not enough to see England over the line
- England now need to win each of the remaining three Tests to regain the Ashes
Australia went 2-0 up in the Ashes on Sunday with a thrilling 43-run victory over England at Lords.
The tourists looked like firm favourites after setting England an imposing 371 to win, and their position only improved as England fell to 45-4 in their response on the fourth evening.
Ben Stokes ensured it was a closer contest than many had predicted with a thrilling 155, but the England captain could not repeat his heroics from Headingley in 2019 as he was caught with 70 runs still needed.
The hosts’ tail could not get them over the line, and Josh Tongue was the last man to go as they were dismissed for 327.
Here, Mail Sport’s AADAM PATEL takes you through some of the stories you might have missed from a gripping Sunday at Lord’s.
Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes on Sunday after beating England by 43 runs at Lords
Glenn McGrath was spotted before the game questioning the on field umpires after Marias Erasmus’ decision to overturn a Mitchell Starc catch
The Australian seamer appeared to have caught Ben Duckett on the boundary but replays showed he had grounded the ball
McGrath as fiery as ever
An hour before a ball was even bowled on a crazy day, Glenn McGrath walked out to the middle and was involved in a lengthy discussion with the umpires about the Mitchell Starc catch call the night before.
The same decision that McGrath had described as a ‘disgrace.’ The third-umpire Marais Erasmus was interrogated before McGrath’s attention turned to the two on-field umpires in Ahsan Raza and Chris Gaffaney.
Even after a good night’s sleep, the Australia legend wasn’t too pleased and the classic hand-on-hips look told the story. A penny for his thoughts on Jonny Bairstow’s stumping? You can’t imagine McGrath calling that a disgrace.
Erasmus clears things up
It was fascinating to see Erasmus get interviewed by Michael Atherton on Sky before play to explain his decision on the Starc catch, which similar to the Bairstow stumping, was a simple decision to make according to the letter of the law.
‘It was actually quite simple because he (Starc) put the ball on the ground quite early and when he came back up, it was too late,’ said Erasmus.
The refreshing nature of an official coming out to explain a controversial decision was definitely a good sign and something that football should certainly embrace more of.
Aussie fans take the Grand Stand
On Saturday, the travelling Australian support were housed in the upper tier of the Compton Stand at Lord’s, in something akin to an away end in Europe but it looked like they had taken over the Grand Stand at Lord’s on Sunday with three different sections of Australian fans making the most out of day five tickets going on general sale and snapping up as many as they could to sit together.
It still didn’t stop the players getting heckled from all four corners of the ground with one man from the Grand Stand shouting, ‘Shame on you’ to Pat Cummins when he came over to the boundary to field.
There was an unsavoury clash between members and Australian players in the long room
Stuart Broad exchanged words with the Australian players after Jonny Bairstow was controversially run out
Ultras in egg and bacon ties
The scenes in the Long Room at lunch were unlike anything the Home of Cricket had ever seen before with the Australian players furious at the way they were treated by the members as they were booed and heckled all the way up to the pavilion.
As one player said: ‘This is meant to be the gold standard of cricket.’ It was more like Galatasaray away with one person on Twitter using the infamous ‘Welcome To The Hell’ banner picture and captioning it: ‘The Long Room at Stumps.’
On-field verbals make for dramatic viewing
Make no mistake, this was perfect viewing. Not least for the Amazon Prime documentary team in town, who could probably make a series from this Test match alone.
The stump mic offered up some corkers with Stuart Broad walking out after Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal and immediately letting Alex Carey know his thoughts. ‘That’s all you’ll ever be remembered for that,’ said Broad.
Remember, Carey once walked into a swimming pool in Karachi…
Stokes nearly does it again
Ben Stokes nearly pulled off another epic Ashes chase but was caught with England needing another 70
His 155 evoked memories of England’s famous win at Headingley in 2019 and moved his fourth innings Ashes average to 55
Ben Stokes nearly pulled off another miracle with one of the great Ashes centuries.
He now has more runs in the fourth innings against Australia than in any other innings of the game, with 554 runs at 55.4 (1st inns: 130 runs at 18.6, 2nd inns: 378 runs at 27, 3rd inns: 311 runs at 44.4).
Stokes was on 62 off 126 balls when Bairstow was stumped, before hitting 93 off the next 88 deliveries he faced.
Australia’s win saw them level England for Test match victories in the Ashes in England, with both teams now having won 53 each in England, alongside 66 draws.
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