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Why England’s miracle win is a sign of the times

Alasdair new author
Roar Rookie
27th August, 2019
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Alasdair new author
Roar Rookie
27th August, 2019
13

When England went to stumps on Day 3 with 200 runs to play with and six wickets in the bank, chasing a record total to keep their Ashes hopes alive, many were signing the gallows song for this year’s Ashes.

However, there were many who rightfully looked at the equation and saw that there were several real factors in England’s favour.

Notable was the presence of Ben Stokes and Joe Root at the crease, with Stokes once again set to fulfil his role as saviour of English cricketing pride, as he has done all summer. Also of relevance was the fact that England was going in on a Day 4 pitch – one that isn’t as conducive to the wizardry that Nathon Lyon has produced time and time again.

However, to really understand why England was never out of it, you have to cast your mind back to Durban in February this year, where Sri Lanka stunned a stacked Proteas line-up in Durban.

With nine wickets down in pursuit of 304 for victory and with 78 runs still to go, Kusal Perera threw the kitchen sink at the ball, turning on T20 mode and slapping six sixes on his way to an unbeaten 153, winning the match for Sri Lanka with a filthy late cut through the slips for four.

“I knew we couldn’t win this match by just scoring singles. When the time was right I just took my chances,” he said after the innings.

This is eerily similar to the Stokes’ situation. When Jack Leach joined him at the crease with England still needing 73, all hope appeared lost. Stokes had played a patient innings until then, facing 50 deliveries for just two runs the night before. But when Leach came in, with the Aussie seamers steaming in with the new cherry, the time for ticking over the strike was over.

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Seven sixes – including a reverse sweep into the terrace – later, and England had pulled off the most remarkable comeback since the 1981 Ian Botham bonanza at the same venue. However, unlike this innings, the Stokes comeback – following Perera – showed that the modern era has changed Test cricket forever.

Never before have batsmen been forced to adapt and play shots under excruciating pressure the way they can now. Be it Carlos Brathwaite at the T20 World Cup final with Stokes bowling or even our own Steve Smith’s ability to change gears at a moments notice, the T20 revolution has given batsmen greater ability to put the pressure on the bowlers, at a moment’s notice, than ever before.

The T20 movement has provided plenty to enjoy from a bowler’s perspective, too. Spinners now apply more pressure than ever, given the way batsmen are so used to scoring at a rate of at least four an over, and there’s renewed relevance of the off-cutter, yorker and slower ball.

However, the Australian seamers weren’t able to respond to the switch of mentality from Stokes soon enough in that fateful final session, and as a result, we head into what is surely one of the most hyped Tests in history, with Jimmy Anderson and Smith returning to the fold and the series squared at one Test apiece.

The game has never had the ability to be influenced by one individual performance more, it has never had so many options of potential outcomes, and it is never, ever over.

The white kits are the only thing that remain as far as tradition goes for Test cricket – and that’s one hell of an exciting prospect.

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