The Ashes series is alive as Old Trafford looms after England hunted down 251 runs on day four of the third Test, Chris Woakes completing the chase when he slashed a Mitchell Starc delivery for four through the off side.
England lost its two most valuable batsmen in cheap fashion, Joe Root and Ben Stokes both falling to balls down the leg side, but young gun Harry Brook grinded out 75 runs in a tremendous anchor role at Headingley, before Woakes and Mark Wood combined to steer the hosts home by three wickets.
The result means the English have closed the series deficit to 2-1, denying the Australians an unassailable 3-0 lead after their dramatic win at Edgbaston and controversial victory at Lord's.
The two men who guided England home, Woakes and Wood, played critical roles after being recalled to the XI for the Leeds Test.
Woakes took 3-73 and 3-68 and struck 32 runs in England's chase, while Wood captured 5-34 and 2-66 and played a couple of crucial roles with the bat, smashing 24 in the hosts' first dig and peeling off 16 in the fourth innings.
Wood bowled so quickly on day one that comparisons were being drawn between him and some of England's fastest bowlers in history, including Harold Larwood, Frank Tyson and Devon Malcolm.
The right-arm speed demon averaged 145.64km/h and peaked at 155.30km/h.
Captain Ben Stokes spoke highly of Woakes and Wood at stumps.
"I didn't even look at the fact that it's been so long since he's played a red-ball game for England," Stokes said of Woakes, who hadn't played a Test since March 2022.
"He's a quality performer and every time he puts the shirt on he gets the job done. He's sort of Mr Consistent. Having someone who can bat like him down at No.8 is obviously a massive help for us, and when the ball's doing a little bit in the air or off the wicket you know he's going to be massively in the game. Really pleased for Woakesy and hopefully if he gets another opportunity later in the series he can do something similar.
"He's unbelievable," Stokes said of Wood.
"When you've got someone who can run in and bowl at 95m/h and then when's a bit stiff can bowl at 90, it's obviously a massive help. He is someone who is always going to impact the game. Whether he's not taking wickets at one end, you generally see some wickets going at the other end because of the way that he bowls. It's great to see him go out there with a smile on his face, enjoying himself, running in, bowling rockets as he says. And obviously with the bat he just goes out there with a free spirit."
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.