England captain Ben Stokes mentioned an “awkward” altering room assembly with a brand new fan of Test cricket has underlined his religion within the workforce’s dynamic ‘Bazball’ methodology.
A coverage of all-out assault has paid wealthy dividends since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum joined forces final 12 months, with England successful 11 out of 14 Tests.
But an exciting two-wicket defeat by arch-rivals Australia in final week’s Ashes opener at Edgbaston led a number of former England internationals to warn Stokes’s males would want to curb their attacking instincts in the event that they have been to degree the five-match sequence at Lord’s, the place the second Test begins from Wednesday.
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Stokes, nevertheless, is satisfied England’s strategy stays each their finest probability of successful and attracting new followers to the red-ball recreation, with that perception strengthened by an opportunity encounter throughout a current household break at Durham’s Seaham Hall lodge.
“I had a conversation in the men’s changing room at a spa about the game, which was a bit awkward,” Stokes advised reporters at Lord’s on Tuesday.
“He said ‘are you the cricketer or do you just look like him?’ And I was like, yeah, it is me. He just said, ‘I went down to the pub after work and I don’t even follow cricket, I was just going to go down for a quick few’. He ended up having a few more and said he was just transfixed on the game.”
Stokes, adamant England “always want to win every game we play”, added: “So when you hear stuff like that it obviously makes you feel good about what we’re doing, that it’s bringing a new fanbase to the game and it’s reaching people that it might never have reached before.”
Meanwhile, Stokes mentioned that despite the fact that England first-choice spinner Jack Leach had suffered a series-ending again damage earlier than the primary Test just for substitute Moeen Ali to incur a finger drawback at Edgbaston, a parable from opener Zak Crawley had helped cease him believing occasions have been conspiring towards his aspect.
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“You could think like that, but Zak actually made an unbelievable speech yesterday in the huddle,” he mentioned. “
“It was around a Chinese farmer and luck. One thing happens and it might not mean it’s the end of the world. You don’t know why things happen, if it’s for a good reason or not, it’s just one of those things to deal with.”
England XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson
Australia Probable Playing XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Squads:
Australia Squad: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Harris, Matt Renshaw, Josh Inglis, Todd Murphy
England Squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Daniel Lawrence, Matthew Potts, Rehan Ahmed
Series: The Ashes, 2023
Match Details: England vs Australia, 2nd Test
Venue: Lord’s London
Date & Time: June 28-July 02, 3:30 PM IST
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com