Three more wickets and the Ashes will be ours
HAVING waited nearly two years for the last streaks of whitewash to finally wear off, England will not mind one more night to prepare for the party.
But after Ben Stokes’ best performance of the entire series – a muscular 5- 35 with the ball – dragged both England and Australia to the brink, there was just a hint of frustration that a belated show of resistance from the tourists denied England a two- day victory.
That win, an unassailable 3- 1 lead and the Ashes should come today. At the close of play, Michael Clarke’s tourists were definitely down – at 241- 7 still trailing England’s first- innings’ 391- 9 declared by a hefty looking 90 runs – but not quite out.
The remaining three wickets will be gratefully received by the 17,007 who have bought tickets to the party, particularly if they come in the first 10 overs, which will gift them a full refund.
For the chance to be a part of the celebration for nothing, they had fi rst Australia’s resistance – which came from Chris Rogers, David Warner and Adam Voges to thank – and then Stokes, who pushed England so close before bad light fi nally intervened at 6.26pm. Stokes has had to shoulder the burden of being labelled the ‘ new Andrew Flintoff’ by his captain on the eve of Cardiff. But it has not weighed him down, for all that he has not quite set the series alight with the ball as Alastair Cook had predicted.
Stokes has had a decent time with the bat with a half- century at Cardiff and 87 at Lord’s and has been superb in the field throughout, culminating in his stunning catch in the first innings here to dismiss Voges . With the ball he has found impact a more diffi cult commodity to lay hands on. Until yesterday.
England had surprised plenty in the ground by ending an innings that had already climbed to 391 halfway through the 86th over with Australia ambling slowly back to their positions.
The Aussies survived the threeover test that England set them to reach lunch at 14- 0 and then they pushed on to 113- 0. It was a drawbridge pulled up that needed a strong battering ram and none are better equipped than Stokes for that job. The Durham bowler has taken just two wickets at approaching 100 apiece in this series. But in mitigation he has had some bad luck with several catches dropped off his bowling.
When Warner was put down by Ian Bell on 42 at second slip, it looked like more of the same. Then Mark Wood looked to have chiselled out Rogers on 47, a scrambling catch taken by Joe Root at third slip as the batsman fended a rising ball off his splice, but the delivery was ruled a no- ball. It looked as though England’s luck had all been used up on day one. Stokes had other ideas.
Getting prodigious swing, he finally made the breakthrough when finding the edge of Rogers’ bat which in turn picked out Root’s unfailing grasp, then smashed through Warner and Shaun Marsh in a 10- over spell.
After tea, he shrugged off the effects of cramp to pile through another five overs to remove Peter Nevill and Mitchell Johnson and finish with his second five- wicket haul.
Clarke remains a shadow of his former self, scratching around for 13 in 37 uncomfortable minutes before edging a Wood delivery into the slips.
A juggling act by Cook kept the ball in the air before it was pouched by Bell.
Clarke’s fate appears confi rmed with his tenure as captain drawing to a close. He will be searching for the words to explain what has been one of the worst Tests in living memory for Australia.
And he will be delivering them on the podium before Cook is invited up to receive the baubles of
victory.