What If Tim Paine had the review three years ago ?

Former Australia captain Tim Paine [PC: Twitter]

Let us walk back to 2019, on this day and see what could have happened if a few incidents went the other way.

England and Australia were playing in the 3rd Test of the Ashes at Headingley, Leeds. It was a one of a kind Test given the batting collapse the two teams faced in their respective first innings. Come the fourth innings of the match, England was tasked with chasing down a target of 359 runs with a couple of days left in the match. 

It was day four and Ben Stokes has played out of his skin and have taken England home. He was batting at 131 runs and England were just 2 runs away from the victory and keeping the hopes of winning The Ashes alive.

Stokes celebrating with Leach

On the last delivery of the 125th over of the innings there was an appeal against Stokes. Nathan Lyon trapped Stokes plumb in front of the stumps, while the batter was looking to sweep. But the umpire turned down the appeal and replays showed that he completely misjudged the decision. 

But the Australian skipper, Time Paine had no reviews left as he had wasted the third and final review of the innings in a desperate call against Jack Leach, when the ball had pitched outside the leg stump. So, what if desperation did not get the better of the Aussie skipper  and there was a review left at this stage?

Ben Stokes walks back to the pavilion

Stokes with Langer [PC: Twitter]

The Australian skipper takes the review and Ben Stokes is dismissed for 131 off 218 balls. As that was the last wicket for the English team, the match ended and Australia won by just 1 run. 

Australia retain The Ashes

With the win in the third match, Australia took an unbeatable lead in the series. As they have won the home series, the Aussies retained the coveted Ashes then and there, without any further fights. 

Ben Stokes' heroics goes in vain

Stokes after hitting the winning run

Inspite of playing memorable knock of 131 runs in the match, Stokes failed to take England home. One of the greatest Test knocks in the history ended up in the losing cause. 

Just one act of desperation lead to the change in the fate of a match. This shows why a captain needs to maintain his composure on the field and act very wisely.

Also Read: What if India never won the 1983 World Cup?