Strip away all the noise and controversy of the past few days. The equation for England in Leeds this week is very simple – win or the Ashes series is over as a contest.
At 2-0 down after the 43-run defeat at Lord’s last Sunday, a match that was completed amid fury over Jonny Bairstow’s contentious stumping, this third Test really is win or bust for England.
And with the stakes so high, England have gambled on their team for Headingley, making three changes and moving Harry Brook up to the No 3 position vacated by the injured Ollie Pope.
The changes do not stop there, with Bairstow moving up from seven to No 5, where he struck a golden run of form with the bat last summer, and Moeen Ali coming into the XI as a spinning all-rounder at the rather high position of No 7.
Then there’s Chris Woakes, playing his first Test since March of last year, and fast bowler Mark Wood coming into the attack for James Anderson and Josh Tongue.
After narrow losses in the opening two Tests, England are now aiming to become the first team since the Australians of 1936-37 to win an Ashes series from 2-0 down. They, of course, had a certain Don Bradman in their ranks.
Yet in Ben Stokes, England have a bona fide modern great whose latest masterpiece – his 155 on the final day at Lord’s – has almost been forgotten amid the fallout from that acrimonious Test.
There is still a sense of burning injustice in the home dressing room about the way Bairstow was played by the Aussies.
Channelling that rage may be useful during the rest of the series, yet it will be meaningless unless they can win in Leeds. Some may even argue that the very fate of Bazball is on the line this week.
“The Ashes is obviously over if things don’t go well but the team isn’t over if it doesn’t go well,” said Stokes.
“We will have two games after that. And then we’ll have series after that to keep going but we understand where we’re at in the series and we know what we need to do. This is that moment, it starts here at Headingley and we’ve got to win this game.
“We’ve got to keep looking to every situation to try and influence the game back in our favour and put Australia under more pressure whenever we feel like we can because we know we need to win this game to keep the Ashes alive.”
Given what’s on the line, England can only be helped by coming back to, as their captain put it, a “magical” venue, the scene of the great Ashes miracles of 1981 – courtesy of Ian Botham and Bob Willis – and 2019 – when Stokes slayed the Aussies single-handedly with the bat to clinch a one-wicket win.
“I find myself speaking about it a lot every time I come here,” Stokes said of that unbeaten 135 four years ago.
“We’ve had some pretty special memories here as a team, obviously that game in particular. But even going back to before we were born, obviously Beefy here as well and Bob. You know we’ve had good memories here and you’re always thinking it’d be great to make another one.”
Stokes has no qualms about pitching Brook in at No 3, a position he hasn’t played before, after a start to his international career that sees him average 67.85 after nine Tests.
“He’s a quality player,” he said. “You have seen his unbelievable start to his international career. I know that’s been at No 5, but a player like Brooky can slot into any position.”
So how do England win this Test? They can start by cutting put the rash shots that saw them concede a position of strength when they were 188 for one in their first innings at Lord’s. Target their bowlers and moments carefully.
To that end, Cameron Green, the young all-rounder who’s taken three wickets so far at 57, and young spinner Todd Murphy, replacing the injured Nathan Lyon, will be two Bazball targets.
Then there’s the 72 extras England conceded in that game – bigger than the margin of defeat.
Wood’s inclusion helps greatly, the fastest bowler across both teams an exciting addition to England’s attack, while Woakes has a lot of expectation to back up his fine form in home conditions.
If they can piece together a more calculated and less error-strewn performance, getting back into the series with a win this week is not beyond England.
Australia request extra security for third Ashes Test after ugly scenes at Lord’s
Ben Stokes has warned Australia and their unrepentant captain Pat Cummins to expect the hostility to be “ramped up” when the third Ashes Test starts in Leeds on Thursday.
With his side 2-0 down and needing to win at Headingley to keep the Ashes series alive, Stokes admitted it was time to “move on” from the Jonny Bairstow stumping controversy that marred the final day of the second Test at Lord’s.
But with bad blood between both sets of players and relations between the two camps now strained, things are set to heat up both on and off the field in Leeds over the next five days.
“I think it would be more lively now, yeah,” said Stokes. “The crowd here is amazing.
“The atmosphere always is. Even when we’re not having the success we want, they’re still going wild. I think they might be a little bit ramped up [this week] for some reason…”
England’s captain added: “We experienced it in Australia. It’s a pretty hostile environment when you’re playing in the Ashes but that’s part of playing the game.”
Such is Australia’s fear that things could get out of hand in the stands, the tourists have asked the England & Wales Cricket Board for extra security for their families attending the Headingley Test.
“We’ve got loads of family and kids around so I think there might be an extra eye on them, where they are in the crowd, just to make sure everything’s fine,” said Cummins.
It comes after reports Steve Smith’s mother – who is English – left a febrile Lord’s early on Sunday after allegedly being targeted because fans around her thought she was Australian.
An 11-year-old son of one of Australia’s support staff was also reportedly reduced to tears after being the subject of abuse from furious England fans.
Along with the heckling from Lord’s members in the Long Room at lunch on the final day, Australia’s players are just as angry at the abuse directed towards themselves and their families following what has been dubbed “Stumpgate” as England are about the dismissal.
Although the stumping – which took place after Bairstow wandered out of his crease thinking it was the end of an over – was completely within the rules, it has been seen as unsportsmanlike by the vast majority of England fans – and players.
It means Australia are braced for a torrent of hostility at Headingley, led by the notoriously raucous Western Terrace. Yet Stokes was not prepared to tell England fans to dial things down.
“I can’t really comment about saying ‘do this’ or ‘don’t do that’. I just think everyone knows what the atmosphere is like here.”
Cummins remains absolutely unrepentant about Australia’s actions at Lord’s, saying: “I think the way our team has conducted themselves over the last couple of years has been flawless. I think that showed again on day five at Lord’s.”
Asked whether not withdrawing the appeal might have been an opportunity missed to show that Australia’s team culture really has changed since they were caught ball-tampering in South Africa five years ago, Cummins replied: “How far do you want to go back? As I said the other day, the team did nothing wrong.”
Ashes 3rd Test
Venue: Headingley
Dates: 6-10 July
Start time: 11am
England team (confirmed): BM Duckett, Z Crawley, HC Brook, JE Root, JM Bairstow (wkt), BA Stokes (capt), MM Ali, CR Woakes, MA Wood, OE Robinson, SCJ Broad
Australia team (probable): DA Warner, UT Khawaja, M Labuschagne, SD Smith, TM Head, CD Green, AT Carey (wkt), PJ Cummins (capt), MA Starc, TR Murphy, SM Boland
Umpires: K Dharmasena (LK), N Menon (IN)
TV umpire: J Wilson (WI)
Pitch: Green tinge, parts of it at each end look worn already
Weather: 20 degrees, cloudy
TV: Sky Sports Main Event/Cricket from 10am
But might it have quietened the criticism and the hostile crowds? “I don’t think that’s the aim of playing cricket,” said Cummins.
Such were the volume of enquiries from English reporters on the subject, Australia’s media manager stepped in – unsuccessfully – to try and stop questions on the topic.
And Australia’s captain insisted he would make absolutely the same call again if a similar incident happened again in Leeds. “Yep,” came the curt reply from a clearly annoyed Cummins.
