England 67 (Hazlewood 5-30) and 362 for 9 (Stokes 135*, Root 77, Denly 50) beat Australia 179 (Labuschagne 74, Warner 61, Archer 6-45) and 246 (Labuschagne 80, Stokes 3-56) by one wicket
Ben Stokes. Nerveless, gifted, superstar Stokes.
A day that began full of possibility flipped and flopped and flipped again on the balance of probablility and ended with an air of impossibility as England kept the Ashes alive, thanks to Stokes’ match-winning century. His unbeaten 135 handed England the most unlikely of victories, by one wicket, in the third Test at Headingley, allowing them to level the series at 1-1.
In one of the most thrilling finishes imaginable – well, since England’s World Cup triumph last month with, you guessed it, Stokes, front and centre – he and Jack Leach stood up against the odds and steered their side to their highest successful run chase in Tests, two days after they had…