Ben Stokes' failure to help England defeat Australia at Lord's in the 2023 Ashes

 

Score card

Second LV= Insurance ashes Test, Lord's ( day five of five)

Australia 416 (Smith 110, Head 77) & 279 (Khawaja 77; Broad 4-65)

England 325 ( Duckett 98,Brook 50; Starc 3-88) & 327 (stokes 155)

Australia won by 43 runs, lead series 2-0

Ben Stokes scored yet another remarkable century, but it wasn't enough to help England defeat Australia in the second Test at Lord's in one of the most spectacular and contentious finishes in the game's history.

England captain Stokes smashed 155 in what threatened to be the greatest Test cricket innings ever played, an effort on par with his match-winning hits against Australia at Headingly four years ago and against New Zealand in the World Cup final here.

In less than 20 overs, Stokes and the valiant Stuart Broad accumulated 108 runs for the seventh wicket until Josh Hazlewood eventually erred, leaving England 70 runs short of their target of 371.

Without their inspired captain, England was bowled out for 327, giving Australia a victory by 43 runs and a 2-0 series lead. He went to a thunderous standing ovation.

The strongest Ashes rivals, Stokes and Broad, were fueled by the highly disputed stumping of Jonny Bairstow, which left England requiring 178 runs with only four wickets remaining.

Bairstow left his area thinking the ball was dead as wicketkeeper Alex Carey under-armed the ball at the stumps. As Australia rejoiced, TV umpire Marais Erasmus awarded Bairstow.

The Marylebone Cricket Club apologized after some players were challenged by supporters in the Long Room as the enraged Bairstow left and Lord's pelted Australia with boos that would endure the rest of the day.

After Bairstow was dismissed, Stokes was furious and turned it into some incredible hitting on the pitch. He scored 38 runs off the next 16 balls he faced and clubbed Cameron Green for three consecutive sixes to achieve his century.

Stokes, who was dismissed twice at 114 and once at 77, made Australia pay with a record-breaking nine maximums in an Ashes innings.

However, this was a miracle that even Stokes could not have predicted, and Australia now only needs to win one of the final three Test matches to win the Ashes series in this nation for the first time in 22 years.

For the third Test at Headingley on Thursday, players from both teams must somehow reassemble.
Matthew Potts, a pace bowler, and Rehan Ahmed, a leg-spinner who was brought up to replace Moeen Ali, are no longer part of England's lineup for the third Test.