Watch: Australia players shell-shocked as Ben Stokes survives despite ball hitting stumps

Bizarre incidents are nothing new in a cricket match. One such moment was captured during Australia vs England fourth Test of the Ashes at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. England all-rounder Ben Stokes survived despite the ball hitting the stumps. The reason behind that was that the bails were not dislodged and remained intact on top of the stumps. What made the incident even more interesting was the fact that Stokes was actually given out LBW by the on-field umpire Paul Reiffel, who thought the ball had hit his pads and not the stumps. The unexpected incident left players as well as spectators surprised who watched it on the big screen. After being given out, Stokes opted for a review and the umpire’s decision was overturned as replays showed the ball ricocheting off the stumps before landing into the gloves of Australian keeper Alex Carey. Stokes immediately called and spoke to Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne about the bail. Take a look at the video here:

UNBELIEVABLE #Ashes pic.twitter.com/yBhF8xspg1

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 7, 2022

Meanwhile, it was batter Jonny Bairstow who kept England in the game with a splendid century. This was Bairstow’s seventh ton in his 80-Test long cricketing career. England ended the day scoring 258/7 and still trailing Australia by 158 runs. Despite losing quick wickets during the initial part of the match, Bairstow along with Ben Stokes, took their team out of trouble. Stokes scored an equally gutsy half-century after fans were left surprised with his bail incident. Furthermore, England had resumed batting at 13/0 on the third day. After winning the first three Tests, Australia have already sealed the Ashes 2021-22 in their favour. Australia won the 1st Test by nine wickets, then the 2nd Test by 275 runs, and finally the 3rd Test by an innings and 14 runs to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.