Stokes urges England to use Lord’s row as fuel for Ashes fightback,
London (AFP) – Australia took a stranglehold on the Ashes series after beating England by 43 runs in a fiery and controversial second Test in Lord’s on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
England captain Ben Stokes hit a stunning 155 after Jonny Bairstow was controversially given out stumped after straying out of his ground on the last day.
But England were bowled out for 327 chasing a stiff target of 371.
Australia captain Pat Cummins led the attack with 3-69.
However it was Bairstow’s dismissal shortly before lunch on the last day that lit the blue-touch paper on this match and incited the fury of the usually sedate Lord’s crowd.
Bairstow, the last of England’s specialist batsmen, fell in bizarre fashion for 10 when he wandered out of his ground after ducking a Cameron Green bouncer and quick-thinking wicketkeeper Alex Carey under-armed the ball onto the stumps.
Bairstow thought he had secured his ground by tapping his bat behind the crease.
Cummins could have withdrawn the appeal but the decision was referred to third umpire Marais Erasmus, who ruled Bairstow had been stumped, with England now 193-6.
Spectators at the ‘Home of Cricket’ reacted in fury with a chant of “Same old Aussies, always cheating” — a taunt they repeated for the rest of the day’s play.
England were ultimately left to rue not making the most of winning the toss in overcast conditions as Australia made a first-innings 416 built on batting star Steve Smith’s 110.
England were well-placed at 188-1 in reply only for several batsmen, including Ben Duckett on 98, to throw their wickets away while succumbing to a blatant hooking trap.
The only occasion when a team have won a Test series from 2-0 down came when the Australia team of 1936/37, inspired by batting great Don Bradman, recovered to win an Ashes 3-2.
Meanwhile,
England captain Ben Stokes wants his players to use the pain of their controversial second Test defeat against Australia as fuel to mount a sensational Ashes fightback.
Stokes’ side are trailing 2-0 in the five-match series after Australia survived a brilliant innings of 155 from the England skipper to win by 43 runs at Lord’s on Sunday.
It was an extraordinary day’s play, even by the dramatic standards of the Ashes, as the match swung on the disputed dismissal of England’s Jonny Bairstow.
Chasing a Lord’s-record 371 to win, England were still in with a shout of making history when Bairstow was stumped by Alex Carey when he walked out of his crease after ducking a Cameron Green bouncer.
Cricket’s Laws showed the decision to dismiss Bairstow was correct, but it arguably went against the spirit of the game.
As chants of “same old Aussies, always cheating” echoed around the usually sedate Lord’s stands, Stokes took his frustrations out on the Australian bowlers with a brilliant innings that fell just short of carrying England to victory.
Only once before in 146 years of Test history have a team come from 2-0 down to win a five-match series, when Australia, inspired by batting great Don Bradman, did so in the 1936/37 Ashes.
But Stokes insisted his men could replicate that feat.
“We won 3-0 against Pakistan and New Zealand last year. All we’re thinking about is winning the series 3-2,” he said.
“Losing’s losing. The emotions will always be the same but when you sit back and understand where we’re at, it’s actually very exciting.
“The way in which we are playing our cricket couldn’t be more perfect for the situation we find ourselves in.
“We have to win these three games to get this urn back. We’re a team who are obviously willing to put ourselves out there and do things against the narrative.”
Stokes hopes England can feed off the energy of the notoriously raucous Headingley crowd when the third Test starts on Thursday.
The controversy surrounding Australia’s victory is sure to add an extra edge to the invective from the stands in Leeds.
“I could see it was ramping up and getting a bit vocal,” Stokes said.
“I’d never heard Lord’s like it. It was pretty mad wasn’t it? Lord’s has a reputation of not having so much noise, so it was good to hear.”
Stokes famously led England to a brilliant one-wicket Test win over Australia at Headingley with a superb 135 not out in 2019, but he said that would not be a motivating factor.
“We like playing at Headingley as a team but I don’t think the grounds that we play at next really matter. We know we’ve got to win the next three games to win the Ashes back,” he said.
Despite stump microphones picking up England bowler Stuart Broad’s stinging criticism of Carey and Australia captain Pat Cummins during the Bairstow incident, Stokes insisted there would be no lingering animosity between the teams.
“I’m not one to hold a grudge too much,” he said. “Emotions are high now. Feelings will change as the series goes on. To not have a beer and say ‘well done’ would be a shame.”
Cummins also played down the potential for further rows between the teams.
“No animosity when I spoke to Ben. I don’t think there’s anything to sort out,” he said.
“Is it going to change anything? I don’t think so for us. We will see how it plays out.”
Asked if world Test champions Australia’s reputation had been damaged by the Bairstow incident, Cummins added: “I don’t believe so, no.
“The spirit of cricket is really important. The way we have gone about it over the last few years has been fantastic. We should be really proud.”
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