A superb 75 from Harry Brook and a steady Chris Woakes (32 not out) earned England a pulsating three-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Sunday.
The victory dragged England the hosts back into contention in the series in breathless fashion.
Needing 224 more runs at the start of Day 4 seemed gettable for England as they resumed at 27/0 to secure the win and stop Australia from retaining the Ashes with two Tests to spare.
After Joe Root departed prior to lunch, followed by captain Ben Stokes’ dismissal early in the afternoon session, Australia were back in the game again. But Brook’s brave and calm innings got England within touching distance.
Mark Wood’s 16 not out off eight balls assisted Woakes’ steadying head a good deal as the duo saw England home late in Sunday’s second session, sparking dramatic scenes of celebration after a match where the pendulum swung hour by hour.
Each Test in this series has been gripping in its own right, with the penultimate day at Headingley no different. England are still up against it in their attempts to regain the Ashes, with no side coming back to win the series after being 2-0 down since 1936-37.
Australia, too, would be ruing their missed chances in this Test. In the first innings, they squandered the opportunity of restricting England to less than 200 despite reducing them to 142/7.
On Sunday, when Jonny Bairstow played a poor shot off Mitchell Starc (5/78), England were six down for 171 and needed another 80 to win. That certainly was an excellent opportunity for Australia to exert further pressure on Brook and Woakes, but the field placings allowed the the two batsmen easy ones that helped them settle down.
Besides, with Starc among wickets, captain Pat Cummins suddenly took the left-arm quick off the attack and brought in Mitch Marsh. That didn’t help Australia’s cause at all.
In fact, Starc, when brought back with Australia having very few runs to defend, gave them a glimmer of hope by inducing Brook into a false shot and secure his fifth wicket.
But Cummins bowled too short to Wood at the other end when he could have tried the pitched-up, yorker-length deliveries.
Earlier, opener Ben Duckett fell early after looking in good touch, with spinner all-rounder Moeen Ali — promoted to No.3 — quickly following him back to the pavilion.
But even at that point, England had no reason to panic as Zak Crawley, the other opener, and Root were making steady progress. Just as Crawley crossed the 40s, he played an unnecessary shot to a delivery outside off-stump from Marsh.
Root, too, then fell to a poor shot just before lunch to shift the momentum once more. However, Brook and Woakes ensured the series stayed alive.
