This Ashes series has not been one for the faint-hearted, and the thrilling Headingley Test was no exception.
There was stunned silence when Ben Stokes was out for just 13, and at least a few in the crowd feared that they would have to watch Pat Cummins’ team become the first Australian side to win the Ashes on English soil for 22 years.
But Harry Brook batted with a maturity not seen in the series so far. His 75, including a crucial 50-run partnership with Chris Woakes, who finished unbeaten on 32, kept the Ashes series alive as England chased down 251 to claim a three-wicket victory.
It might not have had the controversy and debate that swirled around the Lord’s Test and caught the attention of both the British and the Australian prime ministers, but it was no less tense for the England fans in the ground or watching elsewhere.
The nerves even stretched to the dressing room, with post-match drinks not ordered until after 2.30pm by the England dressing room.
Harry Brook stands up
Before the fourth innings chase at his home ground of Headingley, Brook had averaged 27 in the Ashes series so far. It was not bad by any means, but no player in Test history had started with a bigger bang than the 24-year-old, who averaged an incredible 81.80 from his first 11 innings.
At Lord’s it was Stokes, with 155, who inched England closer to the total than they had any right to be – but as Moeen Ali said during the match, the side cannot always rely on their captain. Stokes’s mammoth effort came in the first innings, hitting 80 to guide his side from 68 for four to 237 all out.
But in the final innings of the game Stokes was out; and Brook played a considered innings for 75, hitting anything wide, but also defending when needed. For England, it was just enough.
England’s changes prove the difference
Brought in for the Test, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes hit the winning runs— (PA)
Few thought Stokes would be able to play a part with the ball after his 12-over spell at Lord’s preceded him hobbling between the wickets during his 155. Elsewhere, with Ollie Pope ruled out for the rest of the summer with a dislocated shoulder, it was time to ring in the changes.
Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who hit the winning runs at Headingley, were brought in to bolster the seam attack, with James Anderson and Josh Tongue rested. While Moeen returned after missing out at Lord’s with a finger injury sustained at Edgbaston.
In the game itself, England never looked more threatening than when Wood was unleashing his 95mph deliveries, and the deserved player of the match finished with five for 34 in the first innings, and two more wickets in the second. He also made useful contributions with the bat, a quick-fire 24 from just eight in the first innings, and 16 from 8 in the second.
The pair had to do more than expected when Ollie Robinson suffered a back spasm on the first day, but both impressed, despite their lengthy absences from Test cricket.
Points of contention ahead of Old Trafford
Jonny Bairstow scored just five in England’s run chase— (PA)
Stokes does not often show pain, but he was hit in a very delicate area while on nine just after the lunch break on the final day of Headingley and dropped to his knees. Although it is his ongoing left knee problems that remain of most concern for England, and there are questions about his bowling fitness for the next Test.
Ollie Robinson is likely to be rested, especially following the back spasm that saw him head straight into the physio room for an hour to receive treatment. At 37, Stuart Broad has also played three back-to-back Ashes Tests. With James Anderson and Josh Tongue poised in the wings, England have decisions to make.
A more difficult but perhaps pressing concern for England is that of the wicketkeeper. While Jonny Bairstow was electric during the first Bazball summer last year, he has made just one significant score in the Ashes: a 78 in the first innings at Edgbaston, and averages 23.5 in the series so far. The case for the return of Ben Foakes has never been stronger: Bairstow has missed eight wicket-taking chances; and even more indicative of his current state, pulled out of a catch, allowing Harry Brook to take it instead.
Was it a Bazball victory?
Brendon McCullum’s side played a clever version of Bazball at Headingley— (Getty )
England’s attacking style has caught the attention of the cricketing world since last year, and it has received plaudits for successes at home and abroad. But it has not been without criticism. The daring declaration on day one at Edgbaston might have denied England key runs that would have been crucial on the final day of the Test and some of the batters’ dismissals have rightly been criticised.
But on day four at Headingley, England’s batters did what coach Brendon McCullum has said they have to do to be successful, they absorbed pressure and attacked at the right time, treating it like a one-day game and winning the match in exactly 50 overs. Moeen went in at number three to take some by surprise, and Bairstow chased a wide ball. But, more importantly, it was smart cricket. The batters happily took singles to chip down the total, leaving Wood and Woakes with just 21 runs to get when Brook was out, which they did so with relative ease, although not without one big six from Wood.
