The view must have looked pretty good from out there on the burning deck. The sky was brilliant blue in every direction, the grass checkered and parched, and the spectators all around roared and clapped and cheered and sang while Ben Stokes whistled sixes into their midst. You wonder whether Stokes had time to appreciate the moment as he stood out at the non-striker’s end, one leg cocked, one hand propped on his bat. He had promised that his team were going to “make memories” and everyone who loves the game will remember the way he has played in these last two innings.
Trouble is that unless his team win this Headingley Test, those same people may also recall them as the first England side in 22 years to go three-nil down in a home Ashes series. The match is turning into this England side’s last stand. It’s Bazball’s Little Bighorn, and Stokes and his ragtag team are surrounded on the little patch of high ground, Australians in Baggy Green caps swarming all around.
