- Second Test, day five: Australia 416 & 279, England 325 & 327
- England captain hits 155 but his side fall 43 runs short of tourists
This time there was no miracle; no great escape of which to speak. Ben Stokes, hero of Headingley, warrior of the World Cup finals, produced one of the most stupefying centuries in Test cricket’s 146-year history but at 3.14pm on a truly febrile fifth day at Lord’s, he stood hunched over his bat, crestfallen and finally cracked open.
An all-rounder who burned his way on to Australian retina four years earlier in Leeds had been reliving the carnage wrought that day and then some. And while Stokes remained out there in the middle, defying the bouncer barrage and clobbering sixes into the Tavern Stand like an iron giant, England and their supporters still believed a target of 371 runs could be reeled in for a 1-1 series scoreline after two Tests.
