England players in dressing room were in superstition mode as Stokes produced miracle, reveals James Anderson

Veteran England pacer James Anderson might have missed out from being part of his team’s thrilling win over Australia in the third Ashes Test at Leeds on Sunday but he did not miss the opportunity to remain a close spectator. England were virtually written off from the game after they were bowled out for 67 in the first innings but a massive knock from Ben Stokes in the second innings (135 not out) saw the Three Lions pulling off a one-wicket victory with Stokes adding 76 runs with No.11 Jack Leach. The unlikely victory saw the hosts levelling the series 1-1 with two more games to go.

Anderson, the world’s highest wicket-taking pacer in Tests, has been watching this Ashes from the dressing room after he was ruled out of the first match at Edgbaston due to injury after bowling just four overs. He missed the next two Tests and kept on following the proceedings with tense eyes like his team-mates in the dressing room. Speaking to the BBC later, he even revealed that the players were getting into the superstition mode as England crawled towards the target of 359.

“When the wickets started falling, everyone starts moving around looking for a new lucky spot. At the end it was me and the massage therapists in the physio room, Joe Denly in the toilets…Everyone gets into a routine – so Joe Root started standing up after every ball and then he had to sit back down just in time for the ball to be bowled. He did for the last 75 runs! The viewing area is a bit odd at Headingley – it’s quite a low ceiling so Stuart Broad put his head through the roof a couple of times. Stuart Broad was one of those whose nerves were shredded by the chase,” the 37-year-old seamer was quoted as saying by BBC.

Even England couldn’t believe how they could win it

Anderson revealed that even the England players could not believe themselves how they could win the Test match. The hosts bowled out Australia for 179 in the first innings but got skittled out for a paltry 67 in their first innings to concede a lead of 112 runs. Australia then scored 246 in their second innings to set a target of 359 for England. Joe Root’s men were reduced to 286 for 9 at one stage from where Stokes and Leach scripted one of the biggest miracles in the history of the game.

Both teams have high stakes in this Ashes. While England lost the urn to the arch-rivals in the last Ashes played Down Under, in 2017-18, the Kangaroos haven’t beaten the Three Lions in an Ashes on their soil since 2001.

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