Ben Stokes stood unmoved with head bowed, leaning over his bat, devastated. Alex Carey had the ball in his gloves and England’s hopes of another miracle were dashed as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes.
The England captain had produced a herculean effort with bat in hand to try and drag his side over the line – as he has done time and again for his country – scoring 155 runs as they chased 371 to win, but the hosts eventually fell 43 runs short.
No one can fault Stokes’s performance – he took the hits, pulled out some massive sixes and, for a brief window, made England fans believe that the impossible was within reach.
A man for the big moments, Stokes already has a coveted place in Ashes folklore for his match-winning 135 on 25 August 2019, as England chased down their then highest-ever winning total of 362-9 at Headingley.
At Lord’s on the final day of the second Test, it looked like he might be on course to exceed what he achieved four years ago.
Stokes’s innings was almost a tale of three parts. A measured and well-watched start as, alongside Ben Duckett, England bounced back from 45-4 to 177 before the next wicket fell. That was followed by a barrage of sixes, and then finally a Headingley-like strike-stealing partnership with Stuart Broad.
But when he was out for 155, caught by Carey after Josh Hazlewood bowled a delivery that caught the edge and looped high, he took England’s hopes with him, with the score 301-7, and just 70 more needed.
Ben Stokes’s heroic innings wasn’t quite enough for England— (Getty Images)
In the morning session, having resumed on 114-4, Duckett was caught by Carey for 83, but it was the next wicket that lit the fire and produced a reaction not seen before from the usually quiet and amiable Lord’s crowd.
Jonny Bairstow was on 10 alongside Stokes as the last recognisable batting partnership, when he was controversially stumped by Carey.
The Yorkshireman ducked a bouncer, which went straight through to Carey behind the stumps, paused for a moment then went to speak to his batting partner Stokes, just as the wicketkeeper threw the ball at the stumps and appealed.
The decision was made after an umpire review and a furious Bairstow had to make his way back into the pavilion.
What followed next was a chorus of boos from all corners of the ground, and chants of “same old Aussies, always cheating” and an animosity that followed Australia into the long room at the lunch interval, with words exchanged between players and members.
The Ashes does not usually need any added spice, but Stuart Broad had words to say when he came to the crease after Bairstow’s wicket, and was caught telling Carey, “That’s all you’ll be remembered for, that” in disgust.
Stuart Broad made his feelings known about Bairstow’s dismissal— (Action Images via Reuters)
The loss of Bairstow sparked something in Stokes, who had 62 runs when the wicket fell, then smashed 93 in 88 balls afterwards.
He brought up his three figures with three sixes in a row, but there was no massive celebration, and the England captain remained on task, but the crowd were on their feet, and the small flame of hope had been ignited.
England scored 50 runs in 4.4 overs after the controversial wicket, which raised old arguments as to whether the act was “in the spirit of cricket” although the specifics of what is meant by that Gordian knot of a phrase is hard to determine.
It felt for a moment in the afternoon like Stokes would do it again. The field was spread, nine men on the boundary and the England captain was turning down singles and trying to keep the strike.
When Stokes was caught, there was stunned silence before he left the field to a standing ovation, and no one could be in any doubt that he did not give everything in his and England’s pursuit of a record total.
Despite a valiant last-wicket stand of 25 from Josh Tongue and the 40-year-old James Anderson, it was Australia who had the last laugh, taking a 2-0 lead in the series with a 43-run victory. It means this England side, who have broken records before, will have to do so again to avoid a first Ashes defeat at home since 2001.
