England captain Ben Stokes has warned Australia that he has requested for “fast, flat wickets” to take the assault to the Ashes holder later this yr.
Stokes is hoping to steer England to its first Test collection victory over Australia since 2015 and he believes pitch situations might be essential.
The all-rounder desires groundsmen at Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford, Headingley and The Oval – the 5 venues staging Ashes Tests – to provide the form of fast pitches that may enable England to make use of the aggressive gameplan he has deployed with nice success since taking up as captain.
“We’ve been very clear with the ground-staff around England about what type of wickets we want and they’ve been very responsive to us, which is good,” Stokes stated on Sky Sports on Tuesday.
“We want fast, flat wickets. We want to go out there and score quickly. I’m smiling because I’m looking forward to it.
“There’s no point changing just because we’re coming into an Ashes series. Every player knows the Ashes is where everything ramps up a bit – pressure, exposure, all kinds of stuff – but we’ll just keep sticking to what we do.”
Stokes has spoken continuously of his willingness to lose in pursuit of victory.
He pushed that philosophy to the brink towards New Zealand in February when England misplaced the collection decider in Wellington by one run having declared its first innings and enforced the follow-on.
A draw would have settled the collection in England’s favour however Stokes stated he wouldn’t accept stalemate, even with the Ashes on the road.
“Hold me to it. Every game I play this summer will be to produce a result,” he stated.
“I’m not going to change anything just because it’s the Ashes. I’m not going to change for anything or any situation, because then I’m not being true to myself and what I’ve done over the last year.”
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com