Joe Denly insisted that England never lost faith in their ability to pull off what would be one of the most astounding wins in Ashes history after collapsing to 67 all out in the third Test against Australia at Headingley.
England’s woeful total, their lowest in Ashes cricket for 71 years, appeared to have ended any hopes they had in this match of squaring the five-Test series at 1-1.
However, come stumps on Saturday’s third day, they were 156-3 in their second innings, needing a further 203 runs to reach a target of 359.
England captain Joe Root was 75 not out after sharing a stand of 126 in 53 overs with Denly that rescued his team from yet more top-order embarrassment at 15-2.
“I still think we’re in very good position,” said Denly, who was caught behind after gloving a Josh Hazlewood bouncer.
Denly, the only England batsman to reach double figures in the first innings, with 12, added: “It’s never ideal when you get bowled out for 67. It wasn’t good enough and we had to show a bit of fight and a bit of character in the second innings.”
Denly said that England’s resolve had not faltered after their first-innings horror show.
“It was never about a draw or losing, but all about winning — that belief has to be there,” he said.
Root’s effort was especially timely given England’s best batsman had been out for nought in his previous two Test innings.
“Anytime Joe Root is scoring runs, it puts belief in the side,” Denly said. “We feed off that.”
Saturday saw Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne score 80 — his third successive Test fifty since coming in as world cricket’s inaugural concussion substitute for Steve Smith after the star batsman was hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord’s.
“As a batter you want to score hundreds, but it was more about getting as big a lead as we could,” Labuschagne said. “It’s going to be pretty tough ever to fill Steve Smith’s shoes, but from a personal perspective, I’m just trying to focus on my own game.”
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