Chris Woakes urges England not to rely on ‘superhuman’ Ben Stokes

England require another 224 runs to keep the Ashes alive at Headingley on Sunday – with Chris Woakes hoping they will not need to rely on ‘superhuman’ Ben Stokes like they did here in 2019.

Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett survived five overs late on Saturday night to reach 27 without loss in pursuit of 251 as the hosts bid to claw the series back to 2-1.

England go into Sunday’s run chase with the memory of their famous Ashes win at Headingley four years ago, when Stokes struck an unbeaten 135 as they knocked off 359 to win by one wicket.

But Woakes said: ‘It would be nice to do it a little bit easier. We don’t want to be reliant on Ben all the time.

‘Although we do realise he’s superhuman, he can’t do it every time. Across the board, from 1 to 11, we’ve got to put a good shift in and try and get us over the line.

Chris Woakes took two crucial wickets on Day Three of the third Test after play resumed

Stuart Broad enjoyed a tremendous over that culminated in the dismissal of Todd Murphy

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‘It’s the opportunity to do something special. There is more excitement than nerves. We are excited at the thought of chasing down a score, winning the Test and keeping ourselves in the series.’

England successfully chased totals of more than 250 four times at the start of last summer. And Woakes added: ‘We know we can chase scores as a team. It suits us. This team is always looking to be the aggressor and put a foot forward.

‘But the scores haven’t been overly high in this game so you don’t just walk into it thinking it’s going to be a doddle. We’re going to have to play well.

‘Australia will be thinking they are 10 wickets away from winning an Ashes series in England as well, so it’s an exciting day for both teams.’

Play only began at 4.45pm yesterday after rain ruined the morning and afternoon on the third day of the third Test at Headingley. 

But in bowler-friendly conditions, England needed only 20.1 overs to take Australia’s last six wickets. Woakes, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood collected two wickets apiece, as the tourists fell from 116 for four overnight to 224 all out.

Rain halted play until the late afternoon meaning the action didn’t get underway until 4.45pm

Openers Zak Crawley (left) and Ben Duckett (right) survived five overs late on Saturday night

‘When it’s a long day of rain, you always feel if you do get that window, it’s not easy for the batting side,’ added Woakes. ‘Little windows in Test matches can make a huge difference and we felt that was an opportunity for us to take.

‘We did well to bowl them out. If we were given this opportunity at the end of the first innings, I think we would’ve taken it.’

Travis Head, who top scored for Australia with 77, hopes his side can get revenge for their heartbreaking defeat here in 2019. ‘It’s nice that it is here again. Hopefully we can redeem ourselves from ‘19 at this place,’ he said.

‘It’s a huge day in the series. It would be silly from both camps not to say there are nerves. Knowing what we can achieve, knowing that they can fight back to 2-1, there is a lot on the table.

‘They are going to play aggressively, they will come hard and hopefully that creates opportunity.’

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