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Without a doubt, the heavyweight fight on Saturday was lacklustre. Additionally, even though watching it didn’t cost £24.99, the neutrals would be justified in feeling underwhelmed by the mere 10-minute matchup of Ben Stokes and Nathan Lyon.
Between these seasoned Ashes adversaries, the eight balls went just as planned. The England skipper has been dismissed nine times by the Australian in Test matches. The left-hander was knocked for a plodding two at number ten with a red ball after a superb low grab by Tom Bruce at second slip.
Stokes’s tilted bat face and haphazard footwork were reminiscent of his early-season difficulties in India. Lyon was outstanding; his 4 for 59 from 26 overs, which included 19 consecutive overs and 9 and 10 each side of the lunch break, were body blows that caused Durham to lose their first-inning lead of 121, which would grow to 212 at stumps.
However, as usual, the great stories were on the undercard. With his 5 for 41, Tom Aspinwall—who made his debut in the format this summer against Surrey—bowled for the first time in first-class cricket in just his second outing in the format, dismissing Durham for 236. However, things could have been far worse if David Bedingham hadn’t scored a magnificent century from just 142 deliveries. It was his second consecutive century after scoring 144 against Hampshire the previous week.
“It was all a bit of a blur,” beamed Aspwinwall at stumps. “But I definitely enjoyed it. Leading the boys off at the end, I couldn’t believe it.”