"It was no surprise to us" - Jonny Bairstow on Ben Stokes' funky declaration on day 1 of first Ashes Test
England's wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has stated that Ben Stokes' declaration on day 1 of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston didn't surprise the team. However, the Yorkshire cricketer feels it's still a 50-50 call and that England must be relentless with their lengths on day two to stop Australia.
Stokes declared after the 77th over of England's innings when they reached 393-8, headlined by Joe Root's unbeaten 118. The 31-year-old hoped to have Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson dismiss Australia's openers in the available 4 overs of the day. But they survived and their team trails by 379 runs heading into day three.
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Following the day's play, Bairstow said the 20-minute period couldn't have been easy for any opener. He also mentioned that the declaration wasn't a surprise as the coach and captain made it after consulting the bowlers.
As quoted by ESPNCricinfo, the right-hander, who also scored a counter-attacking half-century on the day, stated:
"I'm sure there are many decisions that Ben has made that have probably taken commentators and some people by surprise. It was no surprise to us. You'll all be aware that a 20-minute slot for any opening pair is something that's not very nice and can be a bit niggly."
"It was a decision that Ben and Brendon made in conjunction with the bowlers. It's a shot to nothing, isn't it? You can walk off and there might be an unbelievable ball in there - there might be a loose shot or whatever."
The 33-year-old added that England must be spot on with their lengths on day 2:
"They're going to hit the middle of the bat because they're good players. But we're able to build pressure through our fields, through the ruthless lengths that we're able to hold, with the three guys that have got such a wealth of experience behind them."
The keeper-batter was involved in a 121-run stand with Joe Root after Ben Stokes departed cheaply, reducing England to 176-5. Bairstow departed for a run-a-ball 78.
"It's been a good day" - Jonny Bairstow
Bairstow also hailed Zak Crawley for setting the tone for the day and felt the crowd had been equally energetic:
"The intent that the lads showed - from, obviously, Zak's shot first ball of the day. I just heard it. I was like, wow, it's like a cannon … it's a stark contrast to when we were Down Under the last time. So, it's been a good day. The crowd's been amazing. The lads have been on good form, really enjoying it, and that's exactly what we spoke about leading into the game."
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Australia see off the tricky period without suffering any damage 👌
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Root scored his 30th Test ton and held the innings together as a few England batters threw their wickets away.