An incident occurred at Adelaide Oval on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test. Mitchell Starc bowled a searing bouncer to Ben Stokes which caught him surprise. Stokes was hit on the back of the head by the ball
and he felt the pain. It was a similar ball to that of Phil Hughes which hit him in the back of the head and unfortunately he lost his life. Today Stokes faced a similar ball and was hit in the back of the head but thanks to the new helmet which is mandatory these days. This helmet offers protection at the back and saves the head from getting impact.
Australia resumed Day 2 at 326-8 and was out for 371 with Mitchell Starc posting a half-century before Jofra Archer finished off the tailenders to return 5-53, his fourth five-wicket haul in test cricket. By stumps England had struggled to 213 for eight, still 158 behind.
The Australian bowlers and fielders spent most of the day in the field in temperatures hitting 40 degrees but most of the heat was on England skipper Ben Stokes. He spent around four hours at the crease, getting hit on the helmet and the body and appearing to struggle with cramping. He was visibly in pain throughout the last hour of the day but managed to stay at the crease at the end of day's play.
Stokes mood wasn’t helped by more contentious outcomes from the Decision Review System technology. Jamie Smith was given out due to Snicko and Stokes could not believe the decision as he felt Smith did not hit the ball. There has been a lot of controversy regarding the technology used for this Test with at least a few decisions being poor.
With the Ashes on the line, Stokes showed what he called “a bit of dog” and he barely flinched when a Starc bouncer thudded into the back of his helmet. He showed great resilience and is fighting a lone battle for his team. Tomorrow is a crucial day as England are trailing 2-0 in the Ashes and they will be leaning on their captain to save them once again
