Stokes Wants Ashes After Batting Heroics

Ben Stokes claims his batting heroics at Headingley will only give him “real satisfaction” if England win the Ashes this summer.

Australia looked on course to win the third Test in Leeds and subsequently retain the urn by taking a 2-0 lead in the series after bowling out England for 67 in their first innings and then leaving them an unlikely second-innings target of 359 to win.

And, while England were reeling with just one wicket remaining and 73 runs short of victory, Stokes produced a Herculean effort to guide them over the line with an unbeaten 135.

England’s one-wicket win levelled the series at 1-1 with two Tests to play and the all-rounder now wants Joe Root’s side to build on that success to win the Ashes back. “I don’t think it’s completely sunk in; the main reason is we have two games to go,” Stokes told Sky Sports News.

“I will only take real satisfaction from the innings if we win back the Ashes,” he added. “It was an amazing week in Headingley and something that will be very hard to forget, but we still have a long way to go.

“Momentum is huge in sport and I’m 100% sure when Stuart Broad got out, Australia would have thought they would have the Ashes by the end of the day, so we go into the next match with a lot of confidence.”