Stokes: It was better than World Cup win
CRICKET RORY DOLLARD
ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes claimed the feeling of elation as he and Jonny Bairstow conjured one of the most outrageous chases in Test history was even better than his Ashes miracle at Headingley or his World Cup final heroics.
New Zealand were in control after posting a huge first-innings score of 553 in the second Test at Trent Bridge, but left the field on day five battered and bruised after England roared to a truly remarkable five-wicket victory.
England had left themselves needing 299 in 72 overs and looked to be coming unstuck when Stokes and Bairstow came together at 93-4.
What followed was a counter-attacking blitz to rival anything that has come before, with Bairstow unloading a 77-ball century and finishing with 136 in 92 balls.
He shared a stunning stand of 179 with Stokes, who went on to wrap up the result - and the series - with an unbeaten 75 from 70 deliveries.
Incredibly, he hit the winning runs off the last ball of the 50th over having turned a tense situation into a walkover.
“That blows away Headingley, it blows away Lord’s and the World Cup final. It was incredible,” said Stokes.
“I’m struggling to find the words for what we witnessed out there, it was just phenomenal. I just can’t quite wrap my head around how we’ve chased 299 with 22 overs left on day five of the Test match when we had to bowl 15 overs this morning.
“That is never going to happen again, but if it does, it is probably us who are going to do it. With this group of players the sky is the limit, but we could probably go further than that.
“I’ll say it quite simply, we were either winning this game or losing it. The message just was run into the fear of what the game was rather than stand still or back away from it. When you have the backing of the coach and myself saying what we say, you’re not fearing failure.
“This Test match will probably all be about this last day but you don’t win Test matches in the last session of day five without all the hard work you put in on the first four.”