Published 20:13 IST, August 25th 2019
Ben Stokes gets battered by Josh Hazlewood as pacer breaks his helmet
Josh Hazlewood has been very impressive in the third Test match of the ongoing Ashes series between England and Australia. Hazlewood had picked up a fifer.
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Josh Hazlewood has been very impressive in the third Test match of the ongoing Ashes series between England and Australia. Hazlewood had picked up a fifer in the first innings as a result of which England were bowled out for a paltry 67. Josh Hazlewood's scalps included the wickets of Jason Roy, skipper Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, and Jack Leach. The tall pacer finished with figures of 5/30 including two maidens at an economy rate of 2.34 as Australia had a lead of 112 runs. Josh Hazlewood did make a tremendous impact in the second innings with four wickets, but then he did something which has been in practice since the last Test match and that is to floor down a batsman. This time, it was Ben Stokes who was at the receiving end.
Josh Hazlewood's bouncer breaks Ben Stokes' helmet
Bouncers have been creating a lot of trouble in this Ashes series. Jofra Archer's bouncer injured Steve Smith which put him out of action from the ongoing contest and this time, Ben Stokes was lucky that nothing untoward had happened after he was struck on the helmet by a lethal bouncer from Josh Hazlewood.
It happened while Ben Stokes was trying to rebuild the England innings during their huge run chase of 359. During the 75th over of England's second innings, Ben Stokes attempted a hook shot off a Josh Hazlewood bouncer which was bowled at a speed of 135 kmph , but that attempt failed completely as not only did the ball hit his helmet but his behind-ear protectors were also detached and the guards were sent flying in every direction. The lethal delivery from Josh Hazlewood seemed to have put Stokes in a spot of bother as the physios were called. In the end, all was well and he continued to soldier on for England.
The video of this horrifying incident was posted on Twitter.
Watch the video here:
#Ashes19 #benstokes That's why Helmet is important in cricket!!😳@benstokes38 pic.twitter.com/tYRy0ZOKoW
— Saurabh Potare (@potare_saurabh) August 25, 2019
Ben Stokes' century help England level the series
Ben Stokes played an outstanding knock which denied an Australian victory to keep the Ashes alive. After skipper Joe Root's dismissal, the onus was on Ben Stokes to handle the Australian bowling line up which he did in style. Ben Stokes scored an unbeaten 219-ball 135 as he hosts registered a famous win with one wicket left. The series is now level at 1-1 with two games to be played.
Updated 21:12 IST, August 25th 2019