Ashes 2023: England slip to defeat at Lord's despite superb 155 from Ben Stokes

A spirited 155 from England captain Ben Stokes was not enough to see England over the line at Lord's in the Second LV= Insurance Men's Ashes Test at Lord's. Australia set England 371 to win and the hosts fell 43 short.

Earlier in the day, Ben Duckett fell for 83, but it was the wicket of Jonny Bairstow which had everyone talking. Bairstow left his crease after the ball had gone through to wicket-keeper Alex Carey, only for Carey to run him out. Arguments ensued over whether or not it was legal and- although being legal- the claims from the England camp have been that they were not in the spirit of the game.

Stuart Broad was next in and he dug in and fought for almost 2 hours, supporting his captain very well. Stokes went on the attack and swiftly brought up his 13th Test match century before racing to 150. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to be there at the end and he edged behind off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood for a superb 155.

England's tale battled on, but with the target still looking way off, the Australians cleaned up and took a 2-0 lead- putting them on the cusp of their first series win in England for 22 years. The dust will need to settle, but when it does England will have a short amount of time to work on what went wrong at Lord's. The third Test takes place at Headingley, Leeds on Thursday July 6.