Ashes 2019: Ben Stokes smashes his bat after Pat Cummins dismissed him in Manchester

Prior to the fourth and penultimate Ashes Test, England were in the five-match series due to one man and that’s Ben Stokes. Both at the iconic Lord’s in London and the Headingley in Leeds, he scored centuries and helped his team evade a defeat. In fact, in the third Test, his masterclass of a ton guided the Brits to a one-wicket win and also denied the visitors from retaining the Ashes.

At the Old Trafford in Manchester, he was again expected to do the job for the Three Lions. Chasing 383 in their fourth innings, England lost their first two wickets- Rory Burns and skipper Joe Root- without any score on the board. Stokes came to bat after Pat Cummins cleaned up Jason Roy. At that point in time, the home team was still in requisite of 317 runs in order to secure another win.

But unlike the third Test, it was more about holding the ends up and churning out a draw for England from the precarious position. There was a lot of anticipation when Stokes came out to bat. He started in a cautious manner, but this time around couldn’t weather the storm. The New Zealand-born played only 17 balls after which the left-hander fell prey to Cummins in the 31st over.

Ben Stokes started walking after getting out

Cummins bowled a back-of-a-length delivery and pushed Stokes on the backfoot. The batsman was caught in two minds and in the end, he tried to leave the delivery. But he was too late in taking his bat away and the ball found his outside-edge. Tim Paine didn’t make a mistake in catching the ball.

Even as Cummins was appealing, Paine, also the Aussie skipper, started his celebration in glee. However, the on-field umpire didn’t give him out, much to the astonishment of the Australian players on the field. That didn’t bother Stokes and he started walking towards the pavilion.

“The umpire had not moved but yet Ben Stokes walked off. You don’t see that too often in the modern game. He knew it. He just walked,” former West Indies’ fast bowler Michael Holding, who’s in the commentary panel, was quoted as saying on Sky Sports.

Stokes must have been filled with agony after not being able to stand up for his team. While heading back, he took his frustration out. The southpaw smashed his bat on the ground in sheer anger. Australia, eventually, went on to win the match by 185 runs and most importantly, retained the Ashes.

Here is the video of Stokes taking out his frustration