England fast-bowling coach Jon Lewis on Sunday said he doesn’t rule out a Ben Stokes special for England to save the 2nd Ashes Test in Adelaide. England are in a big spot of bother as they are reeling at 82/4, still needing 386 runs to win against Australia at Stumps on Day 4 of the pink-ball Test.
However, Ben Stokes, who remains unbeaten on 3, has done special things in the past. His knock at the Headingley Test to help England win an Ashes Tes in 2019 still remains fresh but the England star faces a stiff Test with Australia bowlers getting the pink ball to talk so far in Adelaide.
England also lost Joe Root for 26 just before the end of the day’s play on Sunday. The skipper and the World No. 1 Test batter batted through pain after suffering an abdomen injury ahead of Day 4. He took the field only after visiting a hospital for scans on Sunday. Root eventually got hit on the box before he was dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the final delivery of the day.
“Anytime one of your best players (Root) gets out, it’s a knock. Ben (Stokes) has done it before, he has done special things in an England shirt,” Jon Lewis said.
Meanwhile, the England bowling coach also lauded Joe Root’s character and commitment to the team for battling through injury on Day 4.
“Joe is a strong leader in this group, and he showed a hell of a lot of character to get out there and fight because I know he was pretty sore.
“Then once he got hit again to stay on, you know, you could have easily walked off there and a night watchman could have come in. But you know, that’s the character of the man and what it means to him to be England captain, and he wants to show his team how hard he wants to fight for the team and how hard we’re prepared to fight to get back in this game,” Lewis added.
A victory on Monday would give Australia a 2-0 lead as they wrapped up the series opener in Brisbane by 9 wickets. The two teams will meet for the third Test in Melbourne from Boxing Day.
