The Ashes have always fed on the fierce rivalry between the two teams which contest it. It has been no different this time.

England endured some nervous moments before pulling off a three-wicket win at Headingley on Sunday. It’s 2-1 now, but no side has come back to win the series after being 2-0 down since 1936-37.

“Not good for the old age stuff is it?” England captain Ben Stokes said.

“It’s completely different when it’s out of your control. I just sat up there thinking about what would I be doing if I was out there. Brooky (Harry Brook) controlled the game very, very well.

“I think that knock (from Brook) was under the pressure and the circumstance of where we are in the series.

"I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous at the end.

"I walked about two kilometres around the Headingley dressing room in the last half-hour, I didn't actually watch the last 20 runs being scored.

“I’m just tired, it’s been draining,” Stokes said after the game.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins agreed with Stokes. “It seems like a series where one session swings in one team’s favour and then the next session the other team picks it up. I wouldn’t mind a stress-free one!”

But despite all the tension, Brook stood tall on Sunday. After they lost more than half their side, Brook carried the England resistance, reaching his half-century off 57 balls — his ninth score of 50 or more for England in just 10 Tests. He also passed 1,000 Test runs in 1,058 balls during his innings — faster than any other batter in Test history.

Written with inputs from Reuters