At Headingley in 2019 Nathan Lyon fluffed a run out probability that might have ended the Ben Stokes batting blast which gained England an unforgettable Ashes Test.
In 2023 at Edgbaston, Stokes dropped a catch, albeit a tough one, off a skied ball from Lyon which allowed the Australians to safe a victory which appeared unimaginable.
The sliding doorways second in Birmingham late on day 5 was not misplaced on Stokes, now the England captain, who mirrored on the “shoulda, coulda, woulda” play, for one of many few occasions in his profession, didn’t go his approach.
“Yeah, god, its amazing. Going back to Headingley with Gaz (Lyon) dropping the ball over the stumps. It‘s amazing how the world comes around,” Stokes mentioned after shedding the opening Ashes Test.
“I drop that catch and he’s not out at the end. It’s mad how things go around, isn’t it?
“God. I‘m reliving it in my head now. The ball was in my hand, just didn’t manage to make it stick. One of those shoulda, coulda, woulda moments.
“Would have been a good catch, though, wouldn’t it?”
Australian captain Pat Cummins, who hit the profitable runs in Australia’s epic remaining day chase of 281, coming in a 55-run partnership with Lyon, declared the ghosts of that 2019 Test in Leeds loomed giant in his thoughts.
While the placement demanded comparisons to the 2005 collection, when Australia misplaced at Edgbaston by simply two runs in an epic, Cummins mentioned all he was fascinated with was the match three years in the past, when the Aussies misplaced what appeared the unlosable, which contributed to a drawn collection.
“There‘s been a lot of talk about 2005 this week but I think we were all about 10 years old when that happened,” Cummins mentioned
“2019 is probably the one we look at the most – that two-all at the end of the series felt like unfinished business.
“We‘d been on the other side of the pain last series,
“What a wonderful Test match this was, really hard-fought, one of those ones that when you‘re on the other side it really hurts. It feels like one that got away, so it’s a pretty happy dressing room in there at the moment to be one-up in the series.
“A lot of those guys were there at Headingley and it feels like we clinched one today that was out of our grasp there for a little while – it‘s pretty satisfying.”
Man of the match Usman Khawaja, who didn’t shrink back from being a nervous wreck because the Australians misplaced eight wickets and overs began to expire.
But he mentioned it made the victory that rather more memorable past his personal 206 runs within the recreation.
“I‘m not gonna lie, I was absolutely s****ing myself for the last five minutes there,” Khawaja mentioned on the post-match displays.
“It’s so heart-wrenching. When you’re playing and you’re in it, you’re fine, but when you’re watching it from up there, you know how the fans felt. But that was an unbelievable game.
“I watched 2005 Edgbaston as a young kid on TV, I stayed up late, and I was there when Stokesy played an unbelievable innings in the last Ashes but this has definitely got to be one of my favourite Test matches I‘ve ever played.”
Originally printed as Ben Stokes laments dropped catch which determined Ashes opener
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
