Ben Stokes delivered one of the greatest innings in the history of Test cricket to lead England to a stunning one-wicket victory over Australia at Headingley to keep the 2019 Ashes series alive.
Stokes hit 135 not out, spending an astonishing 330 minutes at the crease to help England to a record run chase of 359.
Stokes hit eight sixes and 11 fours as he instantly laid claim to one of the greatest innings of all time, while tail-ender Jack Leach‘s solitary run was the one that levelled the scores.
“At the start of the day, time wasn’t an issue. If it would take till tomorrow to get the runs we needed then we were prepared to do that,” Stokes said of his memorable innings. “And Jack Leach came in and there were some crucial balls he faced so credit to him to do that in such a pressure situation.”
Relive one of the most sensational knocks in the history of Test cricket with our selection of the 100 best photographs.
England skipper Joe Root meanwhile called Stokes’ display “outrageous”.
“We said at the start of the day, ‘we just have to believe’ and while two people are alive and breathing, we have a chance,” he said.
“We’ve seen some freakish things already this summer in the World Cup but I didn’t think we’d see something similar in this series.
“It was an incredible game of cricket, an incredible atmosphere and Test cricket is alive and kicking. This Ashes is alive and kicking.”
Asked about Stokes’ display, he said: “That was just incredible. To try and sum that up in words is pretty much impossible. Outrageous batting.”
