Stokes on England’s bowl-first habit: ‘We are not stuck in our ways’

Ben Stokes has insisted that England are not “stuck in our ways” about wanting to bowl first and hinted that he will choose to bat if he wins the toss at Lord’s on Thursday. Stokes has won the toss and opted to bowl 10 times out of 12 in home Tests as captain – including two out of two in this series – but denied that it is either England’s “preference” or “a tactic of ours”.

England chased down 373 in the fourth innings at Headingley to vindicate Stokes’ decision to bowl, but Brendon McCullum conceded that they had made an error at Edgbaston after they failed to bat out the final day and slipped to a 336-run defeat.

Stokes has chosen to bowl first 12 times out of 20 overall, but has only twice chosen to bat first in home Tests: against West Indies at the Utilita Bowl in 2020, deputising for Joe Root, and against Australia at Edgbaston in 2023. England lost both of those Tests, and have won seven out of 10 at home when Stokes has chosen to bowl.

They have a strong record in run-chases under Stokes’ leadership, winning 11 out of 18 matches in which they have batted in the fourth innings including six successful chases of 250-plus targets. But Stokes said that his decision usually comes down simply to overhead conditions, and played down the significance of the toss.

“We are not stuck in our ways about it,” Stokes said. “I want to make that clear. It’s something that’s been built up. We bowled first at Edgbaston because there were decent overhead conditions, but that soon changed; the clouds broke off and the sun came out. I’m not the Met Office, so I can’t tell what’s going to happen after 10.30am.”

A heatwave is anticipated in London during the Lord’s Test, with temperatures of 30 degrees celsius forecast, and Stokes hinted that he will likely choose to bat if he wins the toss. “Lord’s is meant to be really hot this week,” he said. “If that is the case and the sun is out, blazing, I think whoever wins the toss will end up doing the same thing.

“Because we’ve had good success at chasing down totals in the fourth innings, it doesn’t mean that’s our preference… It’s not a tactic of ours to consistently bowl, if we win the toss.

“There’s nothing whatsoever to say we are stuck in our ways, but because we are very confident in our ability to get ourselves into a position in a Test match to be able to chase down a total in the fourth innings, I guess that’s why, if it is slightly bowler-friendly conditions in the morning, why we might mentally look to do that.”

Stokes said that he will try to avoid thinking too deeply about the decision ahead of the third Test. “You can go back and forth if you’re thinking about it 14 hours before the toss the night before,” he said. “There’s a little bit of discussion around in the morning, but when I get the whites out with the blazer on, I look up to the sky more than anything. It’s not rocket science.”

McCullum, England’s coach, requested a pitch with “plenty of life in it” offering pace, bounce, and lateral movement after the Edgbaston Test, but Stokes expects a typical Lord’s surface.

“Lord’s generally plays the same way,” he said. “There’s always a bit in it on day one to two; then if anything, it tends to speed up as the game goes longer. I watched a bit of the World Test Championship [final] and it was the same then.”