Will Jacks took one of the great Ashes catches to lift England but five other chances went down on a sloppy day that handed control of the second Test to Australia.
The tourists were guilty of haphazard bowling and messy handling errors at the Gabba as they allowed their rivals to move into a 44-run lead at 378 for six on the second night of this floodlit match.
Stuart Broad labelled his former team's initial efforts with the ball "an absolute disaster" on Channel 7 and when the chances did come, England fluffed their lines too often.
Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith let an early one slip through his gloves, Ben Duckett bungled two opportunities at gully and Brydon Carse lost sight of the pink ball late on as he juggled a simple take. Joe Root added to the tally but his was a half-chance in the cordon that arguably was Smith’s for the taking.
Jacks - showcasing his class in the field that would have a been a factor in his selection - put all of those efforts in sharp focus with a staggering moment of inspiration midway through the closing session, swiping a stunning one-handed effort to dismiss linchpin Steve Smith.
His outrageous leap at backward square saw Stokes hurl his England cap high into the Brisbane night in celebration but it was not enough to drag Australia down.
It was the second of three wickets in seven overs, Carse yorking a hopelessly out of position Cameron Green just before and Stokes cleaning up Josh Inglis with a cracker as his side doubled their day's bounty in half an hour.
But much of the damage had been done, with Jake Weatherald's 72, Marnus Labuschagne's 65 and Smith's hard-bitten 61 taking big chunks out of England's 334 all out.
The full tale of missed chances saw Travis Head reprieved on three, Alex Carey on nought and 25, Josh Inglis on 21 and Michael Neser on six. A sharp improvement, in consistency of bowling and quality of catching, is needed to keep the deficit down to a manageable level.
