London: Captain Ben Stokes and England’s tail stood between Australia and victory at lunch on the last day of the second Ashes test that turned spicy Sunday.
England, attempting a record chase at Lord’s of 371, was 243-6 and still a long way behind.
Stokes was on 108 and Stuart Broad on 1, trailing Australia by 128 runs.
Australia prised out overnight batter Ben Duckett for 83 and Jonny Bairstow for 10. Bairstow ran himself out but the crowd didn’t like the manner of it and accused the visitors in chants of cheating. The Australians were booed off at lunch, and one of them appeared to be verbally abused by a man in the Long Room.
Bairstow ducked a bouncer from Cameron Green and he neither checked the fate of the ball nor stood his ground. Instead, he immediately left his crease and wicketkeeper Alex Carey simply tossed the ball into his stumps.
Bairstow was confused and the umpires sent the decision upstairs, where he was ruled to have been run out.
Bairstow left shaking his head after his brain fade, Stokes expressed his anger to the on-field umpires and Lord’s came alive with chants. One was, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, cheat, cheat, cheat.”
Stokes, on a serene 62 at the time, took out his anger the next time Green bowled, by smashing three boundaries through midwicket, behind square and to cow corner.
That over conceded 14 runs. Stokes took 24 off Green’s next over with three successive sixes over midwicket, over fine leg — dropped by Mitchell Starc to cheers — and over backward square.
That last six brought up his 100 off 142 balls. He went from 62 to 100 in 16 balls.
AP
