5 times a fast-bowler's batting cameo won England an Ashes Test ft. James Anderson and Stuart Broad
England pulled off a memorable three-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test, thanks to an incredible performance by pacer Mark Wood with both the bat and the ball. With the win, the hosts stayed alive in the Ashes, reducing the deficit to 2-1 with two games to go.
Although the game seesawed between the teams over the four days, with magnificent performances by players on both sides, the outcome was determined by the crucial cameos from Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.
While Woakes scored a vital unbeaten 32 in the final innings, including the winning runs, Wood made valuable contributions with the bat in both innings. The 33-year-old, playing in his first Test match of the year, smashed a breathtaking 24 off eight deliveries with three sixes in the first innings to help England reach within 26 runs of Australia's total.
The tearaway pacer followed his first innings heroics with another critical 16* off eight deliveries, including a sensational six with 18 runs required, to help the home side seal the deal.
Mark Wood: The X-Factor for England in the 3rd Ashes Test! 💥🔥
With his lightning-fast pace, relentless energy, and explosive batting cameo, Mark Wood proved to be the game-changer for England in the 3rd Ashes Test. 🌟
#MarkWood #ENGvAUS #Ashes #Cricket https://t.co/quKsxeqzPZ
Several nailbiting Tests have often been won or lost by lower-order cameos that have bailed the side out of trouble and demoralized the opposition. The stakes get are even higher when such instances occur in a marquee series like the Ashes.
As we take a breather and soak in all the drama from the clash at Headingley, let us revisit five other times a fast bowler's batting cameo won England an Ashes Test.
#1 Stuart Broad 37 & 29, The Oval, 2009
England pacer Stuart Broad has played numerous vital cameos in his illustrious Test career. However, one could argue his twin batting performances in the deciding Test of the 2009 Ashe series at the Oval were the most valuable of the lot.
Having already played a couple of invaluable knocks earlier in the series, the 37-year-old, still fresh in International cricket, scored 37 off 69 balls in England's first innings. His cameo took the home side from a precarious 247/6 to a competitive score of 332.
Following his inspiring batting display, the veteran pacer took five wickets in his bowling stint before performing another rescue act with the bat. Broad scored another valuable 29 in the second innings, propelling England to 373/9 declared, setting up a target of 546 for Australia to win.
Broad's sparkling cameos proved critical as they lit a fire in his bowling spells, leading England to a 197-run win and a 2-1 series victory. The champion pacer made several noteworthy contributions with the bat in 2008 and 2009, evidenced by his five half-centuries in 23 Tests.
Incidentally, this was also star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff's final Test, and the series victory was a fitting finale to one of England's most celebrated cricketers.
#2 Mark Wood 32, Cardiff, 2015
Mark Wood and yet another crucial cameo? Well, the express pacer has done something similar to his heroics at Headingley eight years back in the 2015 Ashes.
Having just made his Test debut a couple of months earlier against New Zealand, Wood was playing his first Ashes game at Cardiff. The hosts captured a solid 122-run first-inning lead but stumbled to 245/8 in their second essay.
With the pitch easing out and the Aussies breathing life, the 33-year-old pacer smashed a quick-fire 32* off 18 deliveries, including four boundaries and a maximum. Wood's sparkling knock took the side's lead to over 400 and also took the game out of the visitors' reach.
England won the game by a comfortable 169 runs. However, the runs Mark Wood added at the tail end of the second innings provided the psychological advantage of having a target above 400 to defend.
#3 James Anderson 29, Lord's, 2009
England superstar pacer James Anderson has notoriously been an irritant to the opposition with the bat in Tests despite batting at Numbers 10 and 11 for most of his career.
The 2009 Ashes was perhaps the height of Anderson's heroics as a batter, with the medium-pacer thwarting Australia in back-to-back innings in the opening two Tests. After denying the visitors a seemingly guaranteed win in the first Test at Cardiff with an unbeaten 21, Anderson was at it again with the bat in the second match at Lord's.
Winning the toss and batting first, England were in cruise control at 196/0 with openers Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook going all guns blazing. However, a middle-order collapse saw the hosts lose their next eight wickets for only 174 runs to be reduced to 370/8.
Unfortunately for the Aussies, they met the middle of Anderson's bat for a second consecutive game. The 40-year-old scored a vital 29 from 25 deliveries to carry England to 425 in their first innings.
Anderson's cameo seemed to suck the life out of the Australian side as they never recovered and went down by 115 runs to concede a 1-0 series lead to the hosts.
#4 Simon Jones 19 & 12, Edgbaston, 2015
Former England pacer Simon Jones is remembered fondly for his bowling exploits with reverse-swing in the 2005 Ashes. Yet, the 44-year-old played a critical role with the bat in both innings of England's famous two-run win in the second Test at Edgbaston.
Facing a 0-1 deficit, the hosts were off to the races at 375/9 on Day 1 of the second Test when Jones added a breezy 19* of f 24 deliveries to push the score past 400. However, his main imprint on the game came through a spirited 12* off 23 balls in the second innings, adding a valuable 51 for the final wicket with Andrew Flintoff.
His cameo took England from 131/9 to 182, setting up a much stiffer target of 282 for the Aussies. The rest of the story is well documented, with the hosts surviving one of the best finishes in Ashes history by the slimmest of margins (two runs).
#5 Dean Headley 14, MCG, 1998
The famous 'Dean Headley Test match' in the 1998 Boxing Day Test match almost inevitably makes most Ashes lists. Renowned for his hustling bowling with smooth action, the right-arm-medium pacer boasts one of the best match-winning performances in Ashes history.
While memories from the fourth Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the 1998 Ashes series revolve around Headley's final innings heroics, his vital cameo during the match often gets overlooked.
Trailing 0-2 entering the clash, England were asked to bat in a surprise move by Aussie skipper Mark Taylor. Stuttering at 206/8, Headley scored a defiant 14 off 49 deliveries in a partnership of 38 runs with Graeme Hick to help England post a competitive total of 270 on the board.
Those runs proved vital as England pulled out a low-scoring thriller by 12 runs, defending 174 in the final innings. Headley picked up a stunning 6/60 to dismantle the Aussies from 2/103 to being bowled out for 162.