England's Headingley heroics deliver where Trent Bridge couldn't

England's thrilling final-day win at Trent Bridge, awesome though it was, had a somewhat anticlimactic air to it.

England's stunning turnaround on day two at Headingley - another spectacular Jonny Bairstow hundred again at its heart - was anything but.

Bairstow and Ben Stokes' blistering partnership on that final afternoon in Nottingham was lacking in only one thing: jeopardy. The Test match, up till tea on that final day, had been full of it, with England's equation heading into the final session a nerve-jangling 160 needed from the final 38 overs.

Little more than an hour later, a series victory was secured in the most emphatic manner, with as many as 22 of those overs to spare, let alone deliveries. Was it all just a little too, whisper it, 'easy'?

That certainly can't be levelled at England on Friday. Nothing came easy, particularly in the case of the top order, blasted out by the most brilliant of opening spells from Trent Boult. Stokes briefly countered before becoming one of two wickets to fall in Neil Wagner's first over of the series as England crumbled to 55-6. Jeopardy.

It's what all great drama needs. Stokes' Headingley heroics in 2019 were such not just because it came against the Aussies and it was fun to see Nathan Lyon repeatedly carted into the stands (enjoyable as it was), but because England lost their ninth wicket with 73 runs still required and the Ashes on the line.

The Sir Ian Botham-inspired win at the same venue in the 1981 Ashes is still so revered due to England being labelled 500/1 outsiders with the bookies - five down following on, trailing by 212 - before Beefy belted the ball round the park to set up a famous victory.

Few would have heralded Edgbaston in 2005 'the greatest Test' if Brett