Ashes 2023: Despite defeat at Lord's, England's Ben Stokes hopeful of winning series against Australia (WATCH)
England skipper Ben Stokes' heroic 155 went in vain on Sunday as Australia registered a 43-run win over the hosts to take a 2-0 lead in the Ashes 2023.
FollowEngland skipper Ben Stokes threatened to repeat his 2019 heroics at Headingley against Australia on Sunday in the second Test at Lord's as he slammed an impressive 155 off 214 deliveries, but it wasn't enough with the hosts slumping to a 43-run defeat to hand Pat Cummins and Co. a 2-0 lead in the Ashes 2023. However, Stokes is unwilling to accept that England are out of the series just yet and believes his team can make a strong comeback.
In a post-match interview, Stokes was asked about whether the memories of the 2019 series played in his mind as he scored his 13th Test century in the second Test against Australia. "Having experienced something similar like that before you're able to look back at things like that and have some kind of game plan around how you want to do it. I did take a lot from how I went about doing it in Headingley into this innings here. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough today," said the England captain.
Ashes 2023: From Kohli to Ashwin - Ben Stokes' Lord's effort applauded
"Definitely. Got to a point where Australia changed their plans in which they were going with me. I had to change the way I was going about it as well. Tried to take my risks towards that side of the ground, but it's a tough one to swallow. It was so close and being involved in another fantastic game is awesome. We 2 nil down, we've got 3 games left. We've won 3-0 against NZ, 3-0 against Pakistan, so we know we can do it," Stokes added.
Stokes hit a stunning 155 after Jonny Bairstow was controversially given out stumped after straying out of his ground on the last day. However, the hosts were bowled out for 327 chasing a stiff target of 371. Australia captain Pat Cummins led the attack with 3-69.
Man of the Match Steve Smith, who scored 110 in Australia's first innings, praised 'freak' Stokes for a splendid innings. When asked if the team were getting flashbacks of the 2019 Headingley Test where the England batter scored a splendid 135 not out to lead his team to a historic win, Smith said, "It's a bit of a dejavu there, for sure."
"He (Stokes) is an unbelievable player. Some of the things he can pull off on this ground, in this country, in the game of cricket... he's a freak," said Smith in the post-match presentation.
Australia made a first-innings 416 run on the strength of batting sensation Steve Smith's 110, leaving England to regret not making the most of winning the toss in cloudy conditions. When responding, England was in a strong position at 188-1 when numerous batsmen, including Ben Duckett on 98, lost their wickets after falling victim to an obvious hooking trap.
Also read: Ashes 2023: Bairstow run out after walking out of his crease sparks drama (WATCH)
The only time a team overcame a 2-0 deficit in a Test series was in 1936–1937, when Don Bradman's Australia squad rallied to take the Ashes by a score of 3-2. It remains to be seen what Ben Stokes and Co. come up with when they face Australia in the 3rd Test at Leeds, starting from July 6.
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