20 June 2023 , 18:22
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Ben Stokes and his Bazballers were beaten at their own game by Australia’s own captain fantastic.
From No. 9 Pat Cummins produced the counter-attacking innings of a lifetime to snatch the first Test from under England’s nose and seal a remarkable two-wicket win to go 1-0 up in the Ashes.
With just four overs left Australia made it to their target of 281 to spark deserved celebrations in their dressing room as England were left to ponder what might have been.
Four years ago at Headingley, Cummins delivered the ball that Stokes hit away for four as Nathan Lyon dropped to the floor in devastation.
This time Cummins hit the winning runs off Ollie Robinson as Harry Brook fumbled the ball on the third man boundary and Lyon was lifted into the air in exaltation. The contrast couldn’t have been more different.
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But what remains the same now as it was then is that Test match cricket has the ability to reach parts that other games just can’t reach.
Buckle up, because the drama, the buzz, and the excitement levels for this series are already through the roof.
And yet for all the entertainment this game provided there was ultimately heartache for England who coughed up plenty of chances and advantages to come so close to glory but left Edgbaston empty handed.
Through Stokes’ captaincy and moments of brilliance England had made most of the running in this game, but when the final gamble came, it was Cummins who took it and boy did it pay off.
There were 72 runs still needed when he walked to the middle, before watching on as the last recognised batter Alex Carey fell to Joe Root’s off spin.
Australia captain Pat Cummins celebratesThe target was still 54 runs away, but with no thought of trying to settle in for the draw, Cummins launched Root for two straight sixes to get his team motoring.
Nathan Lyon joined in and hooked Stuart Broad out into the leg side only to see the ball fall towards the diving Stokes. Somehow as he landed he dropped it.
Players and fans alike could scarcely believe it, but surely there would be another chance for England to get their men just as there was in 2005 when Simon Jones fumbled down at third man.
The parallels between then and now have been echoing throughout this week, but this was too much. A gloved catch down the legside suddenly felt inevitable rather than twilight zone nonsense.
The second new ball was taken, with Broad and Robinson tearing in at the two Aussie bowlers who had done so much damage themselves with the ball but now had the chance to turn the table on England with the bat.
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England skipper Ben Stokes reacts as his side fall shortThese were two of the men who had been pickpocketed by Stokes at Headingley in a game of similar final day tension. This was their redemption moment.
It was an astonishing finish to a remarkable afternoon and evening of cricket that was delayed by rain, but burst into life as both teams played to their strengths to the last.
No other game is allowed to breathe, or ebb and flow in quite the same way that a Test match can and this is where its greatness lies.
It can benefit from both the fire of England’s high tempo approach and the ice cold calculation of player-of-the-match Usman Khawaja who batted with the patience of a saint and looked utterly determined to get his team over the line.
Stokes put paid to his incredible efforts with the seventh wicket to fall before his opposite number took up the chase and refused to let it go.