‘Stokes the man we need to get’
couple of good partnerships away from making them make a play.”
Burns believes England can draw inspiration from the miracle of Headingley when Ben Stokes – unbeaten at the close last night – turned a seemingly impossible position into victory.
“The way that game went anything is possible,” Burns said. “It is about putting pressure back on them.
“Test cricket is Test cricket and it was challenging at times. A couple of points we got on top but it was a bit of a chess match as it went on.
“I found a way to get through today and that’s probably the method of my batting - try and find a way to get through – but it’s about partnerships now.”
Josh Hazlewood took the plaudits with 4-48 but Pat Cummins was the catalyst for England’s late collapse, softening up Burns and Joe Root for his team-mate to take glory.
“Pat Cummins is a fine bowler,” said Burns. “He came in and made something happen. It was good to be up against it and nice to have that scrap and tussle with him.
Hazlewood said: “Patty created a few genuine chances, and once you get one you can get two or three really quickly.
“We are pretty happy with where we are at, and with 98 overs both days there is plenty of cricket yet.”
Hazlewood said Australia knew the player they had to target after his heroics in the third Test at Headingley.
“Ben Stokes is the man we need to get out absolutely,” the bowler said.
“But the new ball round the corner is in our favour as well.”
RORY BURNS said England will be in a fight for the Ashes when they return to Old Trafford this morning with work to do to save the series. The opener battled to 81 as England scrapped to avoid the follow-on, last night trailing Australia by 297 on 200-5. And Burns said no one doubted the importance of today, with the hosts’ reaction potentially dictating the outcome of the series.
“We’re in a fight and it’s very obvious what we need to do,” he said. “We have got some work to do but we are a