“I have always had the attitude that’it is never over until it is over’.”
So says superstar Ben Stokes, who turned into genius at Headingley with a stupendous 135no which propelled England into a fantastic victory.
Rob Key caught up with the all-rounder ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford to relive one of the greatest Test comebacks ever from Stokes within his own words…
“These are the moments, I figure, that actually test you in terms of the place you are as a group. My shot was the worst of everybody, to be honest. It was dreadful out of walking outside having an optimistic mindset, however, it came. I had been in a mindset of’if I get whatever loose , I’m going to attack it; they were bowling really well that balls are not going to come as often as they do’.
“We needed to get rid of the disappointment of the innings very fast and turn our attention . We didn’t bowl them out. Stuart Broad has performed with 130 Tests but he got so revved up before we bowled and went out. I have seen him put up for an occasion plenty of occasions like he was in the huddle for a very long time but I have not seen him. I’m not likely to repeat what he said but he said’like we’re currently defending 170 to stay in this Test fit, we will need to bowl in these men’. He even also got the big wicket of all Warner straight away. He had been geed up he didn’t really see; it had been like’I’ve put what I’ve said and I’m likely to place the platform for this .’
“I have bowled long bouts before in Test matches. Five overs or the initial four will be the toughest because your body is not going. You truly feel as if you are operating in very hard and whacking the ball down to there and what becomes a great deal simpler, but then you get. It is coming out quicker although you really feel like you’re jogging in and bowling at 80 per cent. It got to a point where Joe (Root) was like’one more?’ And that I said’yeah’. Subsequently’?’
Jofra (Archer) got cramp and I said’I’m still fresh; I’ll just keep going’. Then there was no prospect of Joe getting the ball out of my hand the ball came out exactly how I needed it to and because everything just felt good running to the crease. These are moments when you’ve got a opportunity to stand up and actually show what you’re about and letting Australia know that though you’re ahead we are not likely to provide you a sniff.”
“I feel the most nervous I have ever been was watching Joe Root and Joe Denly bat; it came over me all of a sudden. Receive a towel and I needed to go in the room and put my mind I simply started biting at all of the thread the towel off. I believe they got to a point where they left it seem so simple that your ideas go. For approximately half-an-hour I have never felt that nervous before.”
“Hazlewood hit me around the grill but I still did not possess the stem guards tied on properly which is the reason why they blew off everywhere. When you get struck the doctor comes running out but I was absolutely fine so I said’eliminate the field’.
I was asked by him if he can do the concussion evaluation, so that I said’yeah’ but me, being me’I am not going to show anything ‘. Australians asked me’are you okay?’ I didn’t say yes or no. But then Rooty said’you will need to tie them because if they are come off again and hit the stumps you are going to be out’.”
“One thing that I attempt to convey to the team once we talk about batting is always’have a strategy in mind about how you are likely to play prior to getting out there’. The whole time that I waited to bat I just said that if I got in, only undergo; do not fret about runs. Because that’s the crucial point, keep as many wickets in hand for tomorrow. If Joe and me are still there tomorrow we’ve got a wonderful likelihood of winning the Test match’.”
“It was very equally poised and we knew how critical partnerships were likely to be. Every 10 runs which people believed off that total then put pressure. The partnership that I had with Jonny (Bairstow) changed back the momentum towards us hugely since the runs came in rather quick time.”
“I understood Jofra was likely to get peppered so I just said to him’how are you going to play?’ He went’take them and I’m probably going to ditch the first few’. I said’then do it if that’s what you’re going to do’. Subsequently Lyon arrived and he tried to hit on him. I said’since that’s what he’s trying for you to perform don’t even consider cover – . If you’re going to hit on him, hit him with all the twist towards this border.’
He moved four-four and I said to him’we have got nine off the over’ and he went’yeah thanks’. Then block. Then I had to return to him and convey to what you are doing, anything you do here, if you are going to block it hit that, just commit.’ I don’t wish to tell anybody how to play unless it’s Jack Leach!”
“It was pretty simple with Leachy since I told him I would take five balls and he would take you. There were a couple of events where he needed to take more than one. He understood that runs were not the issue, which he did very well and he simply had to live. Throughout that entire partnership if somebody was to have got out, I’d have liked it to be because it is not his job to violin like that. I didn’t need him to feel as though he’d lost the game. I have been there in the World cup with Woody at which he felt like it was his fault – it is not his job to be present at the end and find out his side home.”
“With 70 conducts desired it was apparent I would have to hit boundaries – taking twos with everybody bat would require too long; it might give Australia a lot of chances to bowl chunks in Leachy. I was really being clear in where I was trying to hit on my boundaries rather than try something brand – stick to my strengths rather than worry about the fielders.
“Playing the reverse-sweep stems out of playing T20 cricket; I’m practising all these shots. It’s something which Ihave had success with and’ve practised. When Lyon was carried out there at that stuff I did not know where I was about to strike a boundary so I just banged it.”
“It was not that I couldn’t watch Leachy because I didn’t feel that he could do it – I simply could not watch. It had been a thing. Once I faced I was alright but once I wasn’t it was just so worried. It was unbearable.”
“When it hit me it obviously flicked my front pad. You understand as a batter if you get hit and think’this is outside’ however, hand on heart, once I overlooked it I thought’this is currently going downward leg’.
“A lot has been said about DRS did make it wrong but comes back to making sure you use your reviews very well. If Australia had one left they’d have . My personal opinion in terms of how I felt after I got hitI genuinely thought it was sliding down leg.”
“I have no idea why he started running . Since I undo swept Lyon I sort of needed to get up and Leachy must have believed I had been getting up to operate. I just remember looking and he was shut and then watching Lyon drop the chunk I was going’what is going on’.”
“Broady said it is the best video he’s ever seen. The thing he loves about it is that Nathan Lyon and me understand that the game is won because the crowd have not even got up.
“Our reactions show you the entire opposite ends of sport concerning emotion. It captured that brightly and the crowd who were there alive that the whole way through with all of .”
“I was asking everyone’what was it like up at the changing room when that was occurring’ because you would like to know what all the lads were doing. Each the superstitions came outside. Then they actually had the partnership on an iPad in the changing room. So we just sat around watching that. So that was pretty cool; even understanding what had occurred, it was quite a nervous watch.”
“Leachy shot JRoy’s glasses and then just reenacted exactly what he did. The bit I laughed was at the conclusion of the movie where he moves’complete it off, Stokesy’.
“Momentum is enormous in sport, particularly in cricket. Both groups could have gone through many unique emotions on this moment. We stopped coming out on top so we’ve got the confidence of knowng which we may win from anywhere.
“We will continue that last day we’d at Headingley into the very first day in Old Trafford but we know there are still two matches left. What we managed to perform in Headingley will only be like it felt on that day if we’re lifting the Ashes in the end of their Oval.”
View Ben Stokes: My Summer So Far at 8pm on Tuesday on Sky Sports The Ashes, while day among those fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia will be currently live on Sky Sports The Ashes.
It is possible to follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips onto our rolling site on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.

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