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A rare moment of fortune went England and Ben Stokes’ way in the fourth Ashes Test series as the left-handed batter mightily escaped from being bowled out. A Test series in which there has hardly been anything that has gone England’s way, the English all-rounder witnessed a dramatic moment when the ball clipped his off stump but the bails did not come off.
The incident occurred in the second session of Day 3 of the Sydney Test as Cameroon Green had the ball in his hand. On the first ball of the 31st over, Green’s in-swinging delivery got deflected before it carried to the wicketkeeper, with the slightest of noise and the ball angling towards off stump, Australian players appealed immediately for an LBW and the on-field umpire agreed as he gave Stokes the marching orders.
Reviewing the decision
At this moment, England were 57/4 and the soft signal from the umpire meant that it was 57/5, but Stokes was convinced that the ball hadn’t hit his pads. The 30-year-old all-rounder, batting on 16, challenged the call and reviewed the incident straightaway and then the replays showed an extraordinary footage as the ball clipped the off stump and was nowhere near Stokes’ pad.
The deflection and noise were generated by the ball hitting the stumps, but most importantly and surprisingly as well, the bails never came off. Umpire's decision was overturned and Stokes was seen laughing and enjoying the moment. The famous hero of the 2019 World Cup final survived the scare as he and Jonny Bairstow (batting on 4 during the incident) went on to score a partnership of 128 runs for the fifth wicket to take England away from danger. Stokes eventually departed for 66 after Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon dismissed him.
Playing for pride
Joe Root’s side have already lost the Ashes 3-0 and are playing for pride and were almost undone in the ongoing Test as they struggled for 36/4. Bairstow and Stokes somehow managed to keep their side in the game, with the former hitting his seventh Test ton, his first in 38 innings. Courtesy of his hundred England ended the day’s play on 258/7. With still two days of cricket to go, the English team might just require more luck to avoid a whitewash.
