England captain Ben Stokes has confirmed that his team is not going to change their approach despite losing the first two Test matches of the Ashes 2023. Stokes, who scored a heroic 155 off 214 balls in the final innings of the Lord’s Test Match said that all he can think about is winning the final three games of the series.
An entertaining final day of Test match was played at the Lord’s with plenty of drama unfolding in front of the eyes. A bouncer barrage from Australia seemed ineffective before getting the wicket of Ben Duckett and then a moment of brilliance from Alex Carey shifted the momentum of the game with the run-out of Jonny Bairstow. Stokes, understanding the gravity of the situation switched to fifth gear and slammed the Australian pacers out of the park en route his century.
Pat Cummins’s team toiled hard to remove Stokes early in the final session of the game before sealing a 2-0 lead over the hosts.
“All we’re thinking about is winning the series 3-2,” Stokes told reporters after the match.
He suggested that England’s perilous situation plays into their hands in view of the swashbuckling way they have been playing the game since McCullum took over in May 2022.
“It’s very exciting to know that the way in which we are playing our cricket actually couldn’t be more perfect for the situation we find ourselves in – we have to win these three games to get this urn back,” he said.
“We are a team who are obviously willing to put ourselves out there and do things against the narrative. So now these next three games are an even better opportunity for us than we’ve ever found ourselves in before,” Stokes further added on his approach.
England batters have been criticised for getting out to needless shots in the two Test matches. Stokes agreed that the execution could be better from the side but then added that every individual had the backing and freedom to play the game their way.
