The left-hander and Ben Duckett survived to stumps but still required 256 runs on the final day. But as long as the miracle man remained at the crease, the Aussies felt uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Throughout 50 frenetic overs, with the flashpoint Alex Carey\u2019s stumping of Jonny Bairstow that had the mob at Lord\u2019s braying, Stokes set about smashing the Australian attack. He was powerful. He was daring. And he was bloody brilliant to watch.<\/p>\n
Khawaja, who had watched the English talisman make an heroic unbeaten century at Headingley in 2019 to steer his nation to an unlikely triumph, had a sinking feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing you have always got to worry about is when their backs are against the wall, like the Headingley match or in the World Cup final (in 2019) when they needed him, he always rose to those occasions,\u201d Khawaja told foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the same the last time we played in the Ashes at Lords. He got 100 again and it was a bit too close for comfort. And I was like, \u2018Oh no, not again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not until Stokes, who was running out of partners, edged a Josh Hazlewood delivery to Carey to fall for 155 that Australians on the field and in the stands felt a sense of relief.<\/p>\n
The final margin was 43 runs, which gave Australia a 2-0 lead in the series. But with Nathan Lyon unable to bowl after tearing his calf muscle, and Stokes on a tear with the bat, it had been a near run thing. And it changed the momentum of the series.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should have won that game easily. But it\u2019s just the way it is,\u201d Khawaja said. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne should never write off Stokesy. You have always got to be wary of Stokesy, even when they seem down and out, because it\u2019s never over till it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/b><\/p>\n
\u2018IT THREW HIM\u2019: Truth about Poms\u2019 \u2018cheat\u2019 tactic\u2014 Great Ashes moment 25-16<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n FEATURE: Aus cricket\u2019s great enigma… and \u2018who am I?\u2019 moment that had to happen<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n Stokes defends relaxed Ashes prep | 01:58<\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018He\u2019s a bit like Freddie was for us\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n Stokes brings the \u201cfear factor\u201d according to Mark Waugh. Nathan Lyon rates the 34-year-old alongside Jacques Kallis as the greatest all-rounder cricket has seen. <\/p>\n He has the respect of the Aussies, Travis Head said, and former England captain Michael Vaughan has no doubt his nation\u2019s hopes this summer rest squarely on the skipper.<\/p>\n The New Zealand-born six footer, who has Maori blood running through his veins and is the son of rugby league icon Gerard Stokes, who played with and coached Canterbury, is a real \u201chard man\u201d, ex-English keeper Geraint Jones said.<\/p>\n From his first tour of Australia back in 2013, when he scored a century at the WACA and stood defiant against an Australian attack featuring the rampaging Mitchell Johnson, Stokes has stood up to the Aussies.<\/p>\n At the end of that summer, he was described in The Guardian as \u201cthe only welcome positive for the future\u201d. A dozen years on and he is the front man of a far stronger English team.<\/p>\n Challenging others has always been his way. And that includes defying medical advice. <\/p>\n A profile of Stokes in The Athletic on the weekend detailed his childhood in New Zealand where, so skilled was he at sport, he was invited to train with the nation\u2019s under-16 AFL academy when aged 12 given his talent kicking an oval ball with both feet.<\/p>\n An anecdote describing where, after breaking his arm, he was at risk of missing a key fixture for his school Plimmerton against a far bigger school, demonstrates the courage that has typified his career.<\/p>\n In an interview with the BBC in 2023, his teacher Mike Smellie said Stokes\u2019s mother, who was a cricketer, ruled him out of the game given his arm was due to be in a cast for three more weeks. But his dad had other thoughts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next day Ben walked up the school driveway, pulling his cricket bag, with no cast on his arm,\u201d Smellie said.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018What\u2019s going on? He said, \u2018Dad got the scissors and cut it off this morning\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n His school lost the match, but not before Stokes gave them a chance with a century. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n Vaughn: “Ben Stokes holds the keys!” | 04:55<\/p>\n With a brittle knee just one ache among many in an ageing body heading into the Ashes, his ability to produce with bat and ball, while rallying his men as skipper shapes as the biggest challenge of his career. <\/p>\n Ex-Aussie opener David Warner, who played alongside Stokes at Durham in the infancy of the champion\u2019s County career, is among those stunned at his ability to keep charging in after 115 Tests and has no doubt in his ability to test the hosts.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had a lot of injuries and with him being an all-rounder and someone who, my gosh, puts in like he does when he bats and when he bowls, it is incredible,\u201d Warner said. <\/p>\n \u201cI know he\u2019s had knee injuries, hamstring injuries and everything, but to still be on the park today, bowling and batting the way he does \u2026 it\u2019s admirable.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones, who similarly to Stokes spent his youth in Australasia before winning a spot in the English side in the early 2000s, likened the blood, sweat and tears approach of the current skipper to that of Andrew Flintoff from his era.<\/p>\n \u201cStokes is a hard man, isn\u2019t he? He\u2019s a bit like Freddie was for us. He gives absolutely everything,\u201d Jones, who is the Head of Cricket at St Lawrence College in Kent, said. <\/p>\n \u201cFreddie for us would just give it everything and he\u2019d come in and he\u2019d just collapse into his chair and that\u2019s the way I perceive that Ben Stokes does it.<\/p>\n Aussies give their opinion on Bazball | 07:55<\/p>\n \u201cHe might have half a knee, you know, or whatever it is, but he\u2019s still going to try and run in and do everything he can for his team and inspire that way. That\u2019s the way I think a lot of people see him. He\u2019s pure inspiration over here.\u201d<\/p>\n In the tremendous series against India during the Australian winter, Stokes was superb. <\/p>\n His most recent Test amply demonstrates his match-winning capabilities, with the superstar making 141 in the first innings while also taking six wickets. It was \u2018pure inspiration\u2019 at its highest level.<\/p>\n Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green, who is back bowling this week ahead of the Ashes after missing last summer with stress fractures, said Stokes\u2019s work ethic is clearly exceptional.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I probably just respect his resilience as well because I think I know how tough it is to be an all rounder, especially when you are playing all three formats, to be able to still find the motivation to come out every day and try as hard as you can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But there was a significant problem. He ran himself into the ground and was unable to play the last Test due to a shoulder injury, a match in which India was able to withstand a challenge to square the series.<\/p>\n