During the ongoing second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s, England skipper Ben Stokes reminisced his past glory with a remarkable performance. He completed his century by hitting three consecutive sixes off Cameron Green. After Jonny Bairstow’s controversial run-out on the final day, Stokes ignited the game with an aggressive display and attacked the Australian bowling attack.
6,6,6 to bring up an Ashes century at Lord’s.
Ben Stokes Captain! pic.twitter.com/C7i0uQfqoX– Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) 2 July 2023
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At the time of Bairstow’s departure, Stokes was batting on 62 off 126 balls. Soon after, he hit a flurry of boundaries in Green’s over just before lunch break on Day 5, hitting three fours. Stokes continued his onslaught in the next over and targeted Green again. He started with a four off the first ball and hit three consecutive sixes. This remarkable performance helped him score 22 runs in that over, bringing his total to 100, which was his 13th century in Test cricket. By the lunch break on the final day, Stokes reached 108 off 147 balls. You can watch the video of his brilliant innings here:
England’s aggressive approach, often referred to as “baseball”, continued and he put on a strong 100-run seventh wicket partnership with Stuart Broad. At the time of writing this report, England were comfortably batting at 298-6 chasing a target of 371.
Earlier, the dismissal of England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow in the first session of the final day created quite a stir. The incident marked the second controversial decision in a Test match, with Mitchell Starc’s catch being overruled by the third umpire on the fourth day, resulting in England’s Ben Duckett being declared not out.
In Bairstow’s case, on the last ball of the 52nd over of England’s second innings, Cameron Green bowled a bouncer which Bairstow avoided, making it to the wicket-keeper. However, Australian keeper Alex Carey smashed the ball onto the stumps with an underarm throw. Bairstow mistakenly assumed that the game was over and walked out of the crease. The on-field umpire sent the decision to third umpire Marais Erasmus, who declared Bairstow out. As soon as Bairstow returned to the pavilion, he expressed his displeasure while the crowd jeered the visiting team.