Ben Stokes: No Australia, I wasn't out with two runs required

1/45
Tom Dutton26 August 2019

Ben Stokes' heroics would have been in vain had Australia not burnt a review trying desperately to remove Jack Leach as England closed in on the total required to seal a miraculous Ashes victory.

With England eight short of the magic 359 runs needed and the 10th-wicket partnership up to a frustrating 65, Australia - in hope rather than expectation - sent an lbw appeal upstairs. It was their final review, and ultimately a terrible call by captain Tim Paine, the ball pitching comfortably outside leg.

It meant the tourists couldn't lean on the Decision Review System (DRS) when Nathan Lyon hit Stokes on the front pad an over later with England two short of victory.

Australia's desperate pleas for umpire Joel Wilson to raise his finger were ignored and with no reviews remaining, the decision stood.

The technology used later showed the decision would have been overturned had Australia been able to review, a scenario which would've handed them victory by one run.

Stokes, though, believes DRS is flawed, claiming the line of the ball was influenced by a small flick off his front pad rather than spinning directly onto his back pad. His suggestion is that the ball was sliding past the leg stump before it struck his advanced leg.

"I have seen the DRS on my lbw shout, which obviously shows up with three reds, but DRS has got that completely wrong," said Stokes. "It flicked my front pad first and didn't spin.

Hero: Stokes hit an unbeaten 135 to lead England to an unlikely Ashes win
Getty Images

"It shows how crucial it is to make sure you use your reviews. When you get to a situation like that, you still need one.

"If they had one they would have used it and ended up winning. I still cannot believe it was three reds."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in