Cricket news round-up – August 26: Ben Stokes epic seals England win in all-time thriller

Cricket news round-up – August 26: Ben Stokes epic seals England win in all-time thriller

Ben Stokes England Australia 2019 Ashes Headingley

On a day of incredible Test cricket, Ben Stokes took the cake for most memorable performance after his 135* helped England snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Australia and keep the Ashes alive. Elsewhere, Jasprit Bumrah’s 5/7 helped India blow away West Indies, Colin de Grandhomme and BJ Watling put New Zealand in a position of strength in Colombo, and some more exciting T20 Blast action.

Stokes does unthinkable to Australia

Ben Stokes scored an unbeaten 135* and, impressively, put on a 10th-wicket partnership of 76* with Jack Leach to help England steal a victory over Australia at Headingley on Sunday.

England’s hopes of reclaiming the Ashes seemed to have gone bust when resumed the fourth day needing in excess of 200 to win, but lost the well-set Joe Root and counter-attacking Jonny Bairstow. Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes were both dismissed for 1, and when Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad fell in quick succession, England were 286/9 in chase of 359.

However, Stokes turned the tables remarkably, bringing out his huge repertoire of shots and digging into his substantial reserves of bravery and strength to hold Australia back and claim a one-wicket win in an all-time classic.

The victory meant the series is levelled at 1-1, ahead of the fourth Test in Manchester.

Bumrah magic too hot for West Indies

Ajinkya Rahane scored his first Test century in a while to help set West Indies a daunting target of 419 before Jasprit Bumrah was unleashed on the batsmen, as India won the first Test by 318 runs.

Virat Kohli fell early on the fourth morning, but Rahane and Vihari plundered the runs, with Rahane scoring 102 and Vihari falling eight short of his own century. India declared their innings closed on 343/7, before Bumrah’s outswingers ensured West Indies couldn’t even take the chase to the final day.

Bumrah ended with 8-4-7-5, and apart from Kemar Roach, who swung his bat around for an enterprising 31-ball 38, and Roston Chase, who scored a 29-ball 12, no other batsman made it to two digits.

De Grandhomme, Watling put New Zealand on front seat

Unbeaten 80s from BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme has given New Zealand a small chance of sneaking a victory against Sri Lanka on the final day of the rain-affected Colombo Test.

New Zealand ended the fourth day at 382/5 in the first innings, leading Sri Lanka by 138. The visitors will now hope the rain stays away, and their batsman can quickly boost the total before unleashing the bowlers on Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka lead the two-match series 1-0, and New Zealand need victory to ensure they don’t fall behind in the WTC table.

T20 Blast round-up

Derbyshire beat Leicestershire by nine wickets, thanks to Billy Godleman’s half-century, which helped them chase down 125 all too easily.

Essex and Hampshire were involved in the latest tied match in this year’s tournament, with Essex’s 139/7 being matched by Hampshire’s 139/6 thanks to Sam Northeast’s 56-ball 73.

Lancashire extended their lead at the top of the North Table after Steve Croft’s 55-ball 94 helped set Worcestershire a 219-run target, which they fell short of by 25 runs.

Northamptonshire lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with a four-wicket victory, with two balls remaining, against Birmingham Bears.

Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire played out a low-scoring thriller, with the Notts scoring 148/7 and ending up three-run winners after restricting Yorkshire to 145/7.