Ashes third Test – Ben Stokes further ensures he goes down in cricketing history

England were 72 runs from victory when Jack Leach, England’s 11th man, joined Ben Stokes at the crease. Stokes was already a fan favourite. The World Cup winner had taken a blow to the helmet, and seen batting partners Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler lose their wickets cheaply.

Stokes wasn’t put off by any of it.

One boundary led to another, and the requirement of runs lowered and lowered as the Headingley crowd grew ever more hopeful. Stokes rode his luck – put down by Marcus Harris at third man. With just two runs left until victory, Nathan Lyon fumbled a regulation run-out chance, wasting the best opportunity to crash the party before it had truly begun.

On Friday, I found myself wondering when I’d recieve the refund for a non-existent day four, which I had booked tickets for about a year ago. A collapse to 67 all out, and the visitors were running up their lead, with Jofra Archer needing to come off after being over-bowled. It was Stokes, in fact, who worked himself to the limits to make up for the one-man short bowling attack at the end of Day two – who toiled to dismiss Matthew Wade, who was beginning to find the boundary. His work ethic and mentality is as good as any other elite sportsman across any discipline.

England were 14-2 early in their second innings. One would surely assume that Jason Roy and Rory Burns needed to start well if England were to win. Root and Joe Denly battled through, and a score of 156-3 meant that, maybe (but just maybe) the dream was back on. 202 runs were needed on Day four to halt the Aussies from retaining the Ashes.

The Headingley atmosphere was something special. It was scorchingly hot by an Englishman’s standard. Root’s wicket was cheap and avoidable – the skipper stepping down the track to meet a Nathan Lyon off-break early on, and David Warner took a wonderful catch after the ball deflected off his pad and looped over Tim Paine, the Australian captain and wicket-keeper. Jonny Bairstow started well, making 36 runs, but Marnus Labuschagne couldn’t believe his luck when the local lad drove at a poor, wide Josh Hazlewood delivery. Just three overs later, Jos Buttler was run-out.  Arguably, Stokes’ first stride after his delivery was the cause of the mix-up, but Travis Head was first to react. Buttler was a long way out of his ground. The final recognised all-rounder was Chris Woakes, but he was caught out softly to Wade at extra cover. He was out after a perfectly good over of defending and leaving Hazlewood’s deliveries.

Woakes’ wicket was the spark for the final England counter-attack. Archer, already a firm crowd favourite, had his fun, scoring two boundaries before holing out on the sweep. Stuart Broad, who to the utter bewilderment of the crowd came out wearing a sweater, went second ball to Pattinson, lbw, off an admittedly very good yorker.

And so, we were left with the final wicket partnership.

Josh Hazlewood came to the boundary rope after Broad’s dismissal, just in front of me in the Trueman Enclosure. He was happy to give thumbs up to the English chanting, which of course questioned both his bowling ability and what might be in his pocket. A solitary Australian fan shouted “The Ashes are yours, Joshie!”, to which he turned his head, smiled, and mouthed ‘one more’, holding up a finger.

As you now know, Stokes had other ideas.

Jack Leach deserves a lot of credit – under that pressure, to sit out 17 balls against Pat Cummins and Hazlewood while his batting partner made himself a hero. Cleaning his glasses between deliveries, I’m sure Specsavers were rubbing their hands thinking of their next ad campaign. Surely enough, he defended his deliveries with confidence and relative ease.

The crowd were fired up as Stokes slogged Cummins and Lyon away to the boundary. After his second consecutive six, I felt that churning feeling in the stomach for the first time. Until now, this game was never England’s to win. When Pat Cummins threw the ball to Nathan Lyon, time stopped. Lyon had time to set himself, catch the ball and dislodge the bails, with Leach two yards from home. That moment was the Ashes for Australia, but that chance was also squandered. I put my head in my hands. I don’t think any of us in the crowd could take it.

The very next ball, Stokes swept and missed, and from my perspective the lbw shout looked good. Time froze again, as Joel Wilson shook his head, sending a desperate Lyon to the floor. The crowd murmured as those with a radio reported that the hawk-eye showed, in fact, three reds, and the decision was a bad one. Had Tim Paine not thrown his review away in the previous over, where everyone could see the ball was going down the leg-side, this game would have come to a gutting English loss.

Leach was then on strike for the beginning of the next over, from Cummins.  First ball, bouncer, over his head.  A cheer from the crowd. Second ball, defended, and an even bigger cheer. Third ball, he pokes it away for a single to level the scores. Tie game, and the crowd roared. I was on my feet. I never thought I’d be joining a standing ovation for a single.

The script was written, with Stokes on strike, one more run needed to win. There was a deadly silence for the final moments of Cummins’ run-up. Seconds later, delirium. Driven for four, and the series was level. Beer flew in the Western Terrace. Stokes ran and jumped for joy, as did the crowd. Victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat, and the Australian players were on the floor, disconsolate. Their skipper, Paine, was the first to congratulate Stokes on a stunning 135 not out, and the rest of the team followed. What had happened only really dawned on me travelling home. Some critics described it as the best English individual innings ever, others as the greatest test match. Wherever you rank it in cricketing history, there’s no doubt that England fans will never forget this one. I certainly won’t.

England will definitely fancy their chances at the series now. Tied at 1-1, with a draw in between. There are two Tests to go, with a nine-day break between the madness at Headingley and the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

The Australians will need to hold their heads up and recover, and the comeback of Steve Smith will surely help. But for now, this is a moment that belongs to an England hero – Benjamin Stokes.