Ashes 3rd Test: England skipper Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali clinch personal milestones
Jul 07, 2023
Leeds [UK], July 7 : England skipper Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali walked away with individual milestones in the third Ashes 2023 Test Match at Headingley Cricket.
Stoke with his phenomenal knock of 80 (108) crossed the 6000 run-mark in Test format. Ben Stokes along with Mark Wood began the second session in pure 'Bazball' style with Wood smashing two fours and one maximum on the first three balls of Mitchell Starc's over.
Even Stokes made Starc his target and smashed him for three boundaries in a row. Stokes passed the 50 run-mark and continued to score boundaries for fun with just a wicket in hand. As he closed on to score his second consecutive Test century, Todd Murphy took matters into his own hand and claimed the wicket of the dangerous skipper for a score of 80 (108). This wicket marked the end of England's innings for a score of 237.
On the other hand, Moeen Ali became the most recent player to join the list of players who have picked up 200 wickets in Test format. He is the only third English spinner to reach this milestone.
Australian batter Steve Smith became his 200th Test wicket as he made Smith play the flick shot with a tossed-up delivery, Smith failed to give it enough elevation and the ball landed straight into the hands of Ben Duckett.
Derek Underwood is the highest English spinner wicket-taker with 297 scalps in his name.
As soon as Duckett got hold of the ball, Bairstow said something to Smith which prompted the batter to turn around and yell: "What did you say?, hey, shut up" as he pointed his finger at the keeper.
Even after losing out four wickets, Australia still managed to see out the day with a score of 116 and a lead of 142 runs. With Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head on the crease, the visitors will be looking to quickly get runs on the board and further add pressure on England.
