England’s Ben Stokes has said that his team will stick to their attacking approach when they face Australia in the Ashes series this summer. Stokes, who is the England captain, and coach Brendon McCullum have led the team to ten wins in 12 Test matches, playing with a bold and fearless style of cricket. This approach includes trying to force a result even if it risks defeat, something that will continue against Australia.
Stokes stated, “I am not going to change anything just because it’s the Ashes. Every single game that I play in this Ashes is going to be to force a result, and that doesn’t matter what the score is, what the situation is. It won’t change. That wouldn’t be being true to myself.”
The Test skipper also said that he has asked the five Test venues to produce “fast, flat wickets” that will suit England’s batters, who play aggressively and look to score as quickly as possible to put pressure on the opposition.
“We have been clear with the ground staff around the country about what we want, and they have been really good,” said the Durham all-rounder. “We want fast, flat wickets because we want to score quickly and bring their guys into the game too.”
The 31-year-old also added that the attacking approach extends to the bowlers as well, with veteran pace duo Stuart Broad and James Anderson buying into the philosophy. Stokes said, “Having those two, who are so skillful and have taken so many wickets between them, they now have that mentality, and it will do good for us going forward if Australia do start taking the attack back on us.”
He acknowledged that the Ashes is where everything “ramps up a bit,” from pressure to exposure, but they will stick to what they do. He said, “Every player knows that the Ashes is where everything just ramps up a bit, from pressure to exposure, but we’ll stick to what we do.”
Stokes is confident that he and the senior players will make sure that external pressure does not creep into the dressing room.
Leon Osamor
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