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It could have been worse. So much worse. But England skipper Ben Stokes came up a magnificent 80 to help his side stay in the game on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test at Headingley.
At close of play, Australia were 116/4 after having bowled England out for 237. The visitors took a small 26-run lead but at one point, it had seemed like the lead would be greater when England were reduced to 167/8 but then Stokes did what he so often seems to do — conjure up a knock that defied expectations.
It wasn’t as good as Mitchell Marsh’s knock of the first day but it was precisely what his team needed and often that’s enough. The morning session had belonged to Australia as they took four wickets while conceding just 74 runs in 23.1 overs.
England’s aggressive approach hasn’t quite worked. The short ball has proved to be their bane and with that in mind, the wide delivery becomes just as dangerous as well. Australia exploited this weakness to take full charge.
But then, just after the lunch break, Stokes decided to open his shoulders and go for it.
At the start of the 44th over of the innings, the left-hander was on 28 off 69 balls (with just two fours), playing sensibly as the situation demanded. But with partners running out, he decided to go through the gears and up the ante.
The dismissal of Mark Wood, who made 24 off 8 balls, was the trigger. In the very next over, Stokes carved Starc for three consecutive fours. Then, the next ball he faced (from Cummins), was hit for four too. Four fours in four balls. He was off to the races.
He took a particular liking to Todd Murphy — hitting the off-spinner for five sixes before holing out at long-on. The England skipper finally ended up with 80 off 108 balls.
Australia kept getting the wickets but the rapid rate at which Stokes scored allowed the home team to reduce the lead to just 26 runs.
The innings of the England skipper once again showed that Bazball doesn’t always have to be mad. Just as he did in the previous Test, he took his time, got set, and then finally let loose.
Too many England batters have gone after their bowling far too early and against an Australian attack that knows how to put a spanner in the works. The pitch remains good for batting and there really was no explanation for the collapse.
In their second innings, Australia would have hoped to bat long but after Warner was snared by Broad for the 17th time in his career, the visitors were let down by some poor shot selection.
Labuschagne (33) seemed to have settled in well and before a sweep shot found the fielder in the deep. Then, Steve Smith chipped one straight to midwicket to hand Moeen Ali his 200th Test wicket.
When Usman Khawaja (43) was dismissed, Australia were suddenly looking shaky but Travis Head (18*) and Marsh (17*) came together to calm the waters. Come Day 3, England will still believe they are very much in this match.
Australia lead by 140 runs but given how the series has gone so far, get set for another enthralling day of Test cricket.
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