"Ben Stokes is set to spend the final day of this Ashes tour watching on from the old pavilion at the SCG and hoping for a miracle in his absence after seeing yet another Test series cut short by injury. The all-rounder had worked hard to get through all five Tests in Australia only to fall at the final hurdle, limping off 10 balls into his opening spell on the fourth morning and appearing in distress."
"Asked if his near-miss 96 in New Zealand last winter had weighed on his mind, the 22-year-old replied: Not really. I knew it was coming. It's just nice to get over that milestone, it still hasn't sunk in. It gives me a lot of confidence to keep doing it, especially as people will stop talking about it. I got a [one-day international] hundred in the summer and I've had to wait a while to raise the bat again but it's an addictive feeling."
Ben Stokes will spend the final Ashes day in the old pavilion at the SCG after limping off 10 balls into his opening spell on the fourth morning with an issue to his right abductor (groin). He later batted at No 8 but scored one after struggling to move. England begin the final day with a 119-run lead overnight, eight wickets down, and will defend without their seam-bowling captain. Jacob Bethell remained unbeaten on 142, will add runs as Australia seek a 4-1 series win, and registered his maiden first-class century to the emotional delight of his parents. He called the achievement confidence-boosting and addictive.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]