File image of Ben Stokes© AFP
England captain Ben Stokes insisted that his team would continue to play the aggressive brand of cricket that has helped them win 10 of their last 12 Test matches. England will face Ireland in a four-day Test match at Lord’s from June 1, before their Ashes series begins at Edgbaston on June 16. Stokes emphasises that his team must stick to their current strategy for the upcoming Ireland Test and Ashes series.
“I find myself answering the same question – is this going to continue? I think it’s pretty clear we have found a way to get the best out of ourselves as individuals and as a team. We have seen success in it. It’s not always going to work as you win games and you lose games but what we have been able to do is find a formula that works for the individuals we have in the dressing room at the moment. That won’t change because of the opposition,” Skysports.com quoted Stokes as saying.
The five-match series against their oldest rivals comes only 17 months on from a humbling 4-0 defeat Down Under, though the England side of 2021/2022 pales in significance to the outfit now playing the ‘BazBall’ way.
“It’s a different team, we haven’t played Australia, but we concentrate on what we do. We always respect the opposition but we concentrate on ourselves and what we bring,” he added,
Under England Test coach Brendon McCullum and with Ben Stokes as captain, England has won 10 of its last 12 Test matches, all but abandoning the concept of draws and utilising their era of white-ball supremacy to play an extremely aggressive style of cricket.
“The Ashes is one of those series with unbelievable history and will continue to capture the imagination of the whole world. We all know what it means. The whole team – players and staff – are very excited about this,” he added.
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