LONDON: Australia outlasted another epic solo assault by England captain Ben Stokes to win the second Ashes test by 43 runs with a session to spare on a salty last day Sunday.
Stokes seemed to be pulling a stunning victory out of impending defeat for England with an astonishing 155 that echoed another unforgettable century in a thrilling fourth-innings chase to win the Ashes test at Headingley in 2019.
Again, he turned hope into expectation for a sold-out crowd and helped to reduce a never-reached 371 target at Lord’s to 70.
Then he was gone, top-edging a short ball from Josh Hazlewood behind to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. A febrile Lord’s sunk into silence until the crowd rose to send Stokes off to a sustained standing ovation.
He was the seventh man out, and the tail wagged for another hour. England was all out for 327 and congratulated Australia on the pavilion steps after the victors were booed off the field.
Australia leads the series 2-0 and the holder can clinch a first Ashes series win in England since 2001 at Headingley in the third test starting on Thursday.
England’s chances of retaking the urn were bleak. Only one team has ever come back from 2-0 down in the Ashes, and it had Don Bradman, in 1937.
The match wasn’t as epic as last week’s opening test at Edgbaston, which was a thriller for all five days, but the last day at Lord’s will live long in Ashes infamy as Stokes embellished his legend and the Australians were booed mercilessly and accused in crowd chants of cheating.
The Marylebone Cricket Club even apologized to the visitors for some of their members handling and verbally abusing the Australians in the sacred Long Room at lunch.
A chase that was moving at a serene pace erupted when Jonny Bairstow got himself stumped half an hour before lunch.
Bairstow ducked a bouncer from Cameron Green and he neither checked the fate of the ball nor stood his ground. Instead, he left his crease to talk with Stokes and wicketkeeper Alex Carey simply underarmed the ball into his stumps and the Australians celebrated. Bairstow was confused and the umpires asked for a ruling from the third umpire, who didn’t hesitate to say he was stumped for 10 at 193-6. England’s tail was exposed, still needing 178 more runs.
Despite Bairstow’s brain fade, Stokes expressed his anger to the on-field umpires, and large parts of Lord’s blamed the Australians in chants. One was, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, cheat, cheat, cheat.”
As prim and proper Lord’s turned into the Colosseum, Stokes, the last recognized batter, switched into beast mode.
He took out his outrage on Green, initially. Green’s next over went for 14, including three Stokes boundaries. The next Green over went for 24, including three successive Stokes sixes. The last of them brought up his 100 off 142 balls. Stokes went from 62, his score when Bairstow left, to 100 in 16 balls. It was his 13th test century.
He had a warrior of similar ilk in the foxhole with him, Stuart Broad, who played up to the crowd by exaggerating planting his bat behind the crease. Broad walked off for lunch berating Carey and Pat Cummins as boos rained down on the Australians.
The second ball after lunch was dispatched over long on by Stokes. But in the same over bowled by Hazlewood, Stokes on 114 was spilled by Steve Smith at deep backward square. Carey then couldn’t hold onto a chance at 115 as the crowd cheered.
Broad took body blows from Cummins and Mitchell Starc, doing what was necessary to feed the strike to Stokes.
Stokes flayed the Australians with nine sixes, one of them one-handed over fine leg, and nine boundaries to the crowd’s utter joy.
He had 86 runs of their 100 stand from 93 balls. But he went down swinging soon after.
Without injured spinner Nathan Lyon, Australia dismissed England for 327 in 81.3 overs. Seamers Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood took three wickets each, and Starc, the one change by Australia after Edgbaston, had a leading six for the match.
Hazlewood took the day’s first wicket, when opener Ben Duckett edged behind on 83. He also got Duckett in the first innings on 98. Duckett was beside himself after a stand of 132 with Stokes that England was so badly relying on.
Then Bairstow came in, and his dismissal fired up Stokes.
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