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Ben Stokes in action for England cricket team© AFP
The decision taken by England cricket team skipper Ben Stokes to declare their first innings towards the end of Day 1 in the first Ashes Test against Australia on Friday took a lot of fans and experts by surprise. With England batting on 393/8, fans expected them to play out the day but Stokes decided to give his bowlers a shot at the Australia openers and that left experts divided. England football team head coach Gareth Southgate also opined about the decision and said that it is not something that he has seen ever in his life.
In the press conference following England’s 4-0 win over Malta in their Euro 2024 qualification match, Southgate had his say over Stokes’ surprising declaration.
“I’m a big cricket fan and it’s something that is hugely exciting to watch at the moment. Their (England) mindset has been a big thing, but they’ve (Australia) also got a lot of world-class players. We’ve got quite a few players I think would get in a World XI. So, the standard is also very good, but there’s definitely been this shift in how they’re playing,” Southgate said in the press conference.
Gareth Southgate will have his eye on the #Ashes today! #BBCCricket #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/5RKaBfVLVT
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 17, 2023
“I would imagine this is the first team in my lifetime to declare at 393/8 on Day 1. That will be an interesting decision because in the end people will judge on the outcome as they do, the decisions you make as a coach. But that’s a clue as to the mindset they’re going into the series with,” he added.
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