Ben Stokes seethes in anger, hurls angry words at himself after losing wicket to Mitchell Starc for 12th time in Tests
England captain Ben Stokes let loose after losing his wicket to Mitchell Starc in the first innings of the Adelaide Test.
England captain Ben Stokes was left seething in anger after being dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the first innings of the third Ashes Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Friday. The left-handed batter was putting up a real rearguard action against the hosts on Day 3, keeping the visitors in with a chance of staging a memorable comeback after being reduced to 168/8 at one stage. Chasing Australia's total of 371, England's top and middle order collapsed in no time, and it was only Stokes who showed some stomach for a fight.
Stokes finally found support in No.10 batter Jofra Archer, and the duo formed a partnership of 106 runs, with the latter also scoring a fifty. However, once again, it was Mitchell Starc who stepped up for the hosts as he ended up taking the wicket of Stokes for the 12th time in Tests.
The wicket fell on the first ball of the 85th over as Starc's inswinger got the better of Stokes, leaving the stumps rattled. The left-arm pacer bowled a perfect nip-backer, and the English captain was unable to assess the movement, looking to play a shot on the off-side.
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There was a big gap between bat and pad, and the ball crashed through, leaving the stumps rattled. As soon as Stokes was dismissed, he was absolutely livid with himself, jumping in anger and tossing the bat up before walking back angrily. On his way to the dressing room, the 34-year-old also hurled some words at himself as he was visibly distraught.
With this dismissal, Starc ended up getting the better of Stokes for the 12th time in Tests, and he is now in the second spot in the list of bowlers who have dismissed the left-hander the most times in Tests. Starc is only behind Ravichandran Ashwin, who's got the better of Stokes 13 times.
Stokes plays captain's knock
The England captain once again stepped up for the visitors when the going was tough as the left-hander returned with a fighting 83-run knock off 198 balls, with the help of eight boundaries.
Stokes put the slam-bang cricket on the back burner as he showed the willingness to grind it out and frustrate Australia. He was clearly the best batter of England in the first innings of the Adelaide Test, and it was his effort that helped England reduce Australia's grip on the match.
Eventually, England were bundled out for 286 in the first innings of the Adelaide Test, leading to Australia gaining a lead of 85 runs. The final wicket was taken by Scott Boland as he dismissed Jofra Archer for 61.
England need to win the Adelaide Test if they are to have any chance of regaining the Ashes urn. The first two Tests saw Australia staging comprehensive wins.
