England needed 73 off the last 17 overs with one wicket remaining. Ben Stokes scored 135 not out, hitting the winning four off Pat Cummins to give England a 1-wicket victory — the most remarkable Ashes run chase since Botham's Leeds 1981.
What followed was 17 overs of the most extraordinary cricket played in England in a generation. Stokes farmed the strike with astonishing precision, manipulating the field and the bowling to keep Leach to exactly one ball per over. Leach faced 17 deliveries. He scored 1 run. Stokes scored 74 off his own bat in those 17 overs.
Cummins, Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Marcus Labuschagne bowled everything they had. Australia missed a run-out chance off a direct hit when Stokes was well short. Lyon found a way through Stokes's defences twice but got no edges. The tension was barely watchable.
With 2 needed, Stokes hit a six over midwicket off Cummins. England needed 0 off 4. Pandemonium at Headingley. Stokes stood at the crease, arm raised, gloves to his face. The crowd sang his name. Leach — whose contribution of 1 run off 17 balls became as celebrated as Stokes's 135 — received the same ovation.
England won by 1 wicket. The series was alive. Australia's lead was cut to 1-0.
England 286/9, last pair, needing 73 — Pat Cummins bowling
Jack Leach facing one ball per over — scoring 1 not out off 17 deliveries
Stokes hitting Cummins for six to win the match — finishing 135 not out
August 22, 2019
England bowled out for 67 in first innings — lowest Headingley total since 1935
August 24, 2019
Australia set England 359 to win
August 25, 2019 (afternoon)
England collapse to 286/9 — Stokes 61, Leach in
August 25, 2019 (evening)
Stokes 135*, Leach 1* — England win by 1 wicket
England levelled the series 1-1 and went on to draw 2-2, retaining the Ashes. Stokes was named England's Player of the Series. The innings accelerated his path toward becoming England's most important cricketer — he subsequently became Test captain and transformed English Test cricket under the 'Bazball' philosophy.
The greatest Ashes innings of the modern era. Stokes at Headingley 2019 stands alongside Botham at Headingley 1981 as the defining England performances of their respective generations — two left-handers, same ground, both impossible.
Headingley 2019 is shorthand for believing the impossible. Stokes's innings changed the narrative around modern Test cricket — it proved that T20 aggression and Test patience could coexist, and directly influenced the aggressive batting philosophy England adopted under Stokes's captaincy.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
The first tied Test in 86 years of cricket history — Australia and West Indies finished level on 737 runs each after five days of breathless cricket in Brisbane, producing one of the most dramatic finishes the game has ever seen.
India vs Australia
1986-09-22
Twenty-six years after Brisbane, cricket produced only its second tied Test — Dean Jones's heroic 210 through crippling heat and Dean Jones's fever, Ravi Shastri's unbeaten 48 and India needing 2 off the last over, only for Maninder Singh to be out lbw off the final ball.
Australia vs South Africa
1999-06-17
Lance Klusener smashed Australia to the brink of elimination, then ran out Allan Donald off the penultimate ball to tie the match — but Australia advanced to the final on superior run rate, ending South Africa's greatest World Cup campaign in devastating fashion.