England captain Ben Stokes on Sunday admitted he was too nervous to watch the closing stages of his side’s thrilling three-wicket win over Australia in the third Ashes Test at Headingley.
The hosts, set 251 to win, were struggling at 171-6 in a match they had to win to keep their Ashes hopes alive after Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc had removed Stokes and Jonny Bairstow in quick succession, but Harry Brook made an impressive 75 under pressure as he shared a valuable stand of 59 with Chris Woakes to take England to 254-7 on the fourth day.
All-rounder Woakes and fast bowler Mark Wood, both recalled by England for this match, then finished the job to leave Stokes’ men in with a chance of regaining the Ashes at 2-1 down with two to play.
Photo: Reuters
Four years ago, Stokes’ stunning 135 not out saw England to a remarkable one-wicket win over Australia in an extraordinary Ashes Test at Headingley, but the all-rounder said it was a very different experience being in the changing rooms during Sunday’s run chase.
“I’m not going to lie, I was a bit nervous at the end,” Stokes told reporters. “We knew we needed to win this one to keep alive our hopes of winning the Ashes. I walked about 2k[m] around the Headingley dressing room in the last half-hour, I didn’t actually watch the last 20 runs being scored.”
“It’s a completely different place when you can’t do anything, you can’t influence the game any more. You’re left watching and hoping things are going to go your way,” the 32-year-old added.
England had their chances to win the first two Tests, only to suffer defeats by two wickets and 43 runs at Edgbaston and Lord’s respectively, with many pundits questioning their aggressive “Bazball” approach.
Another defeat might have done severe damage to their morale, but instead England recorded their 12th win in 16 Tests since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum joined forces last year.
“I think if you look at the first two games in terms of how tight they were, getting over the line in another tight game can mentally help,” Stokes said. “If we didn’t win this one and it’s tight again, you sort of think: ‘It’s just not meant to be,’ but obviously we’re over the moon that we won this one, it’s just the start of what we know we need to do.”
Stokes praised the efforts of Woakes and Wood, who each took valuable wickets as well as making runs, but also highlighted the 24-year-old Brook’s composure in a run chase where the next highest score was Zak Crawley’s 44.
“The way Brooky controlled the game from ball one with the bat was amazing,” Stokes said. “He went out there and put the pressure straight back on to them... For such a young lad in a high-pressure situation in the Ashes, it was incredible.”
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS