"The opposition seem to be doing a lot of talking" - Ben Stokes responds to Dean Elgar's jibes on 'Bazball' ahead of 3-match Test series

Ben Stokes has had a great start to his stint as England's Test captain. (Credits: Getty)

England Test captain Ben Stokes has declared that they will stick with the same attacking mindset in the upcoming Test series despite South African captain Dean Elgar dishing out 'Bazball' jibes. The all-rounder believes that whichever team executes their skills better will win the three-match series, with the first starting on Wednesday (August 17) at Lord's.

The term 'Bazball', which emerged from England coach Brendon McCullum's nickname 'Baz', represents an aggressive approach towards quick scoring in Test cricket. With McCullum and Stokes at the helm, the Englishmen have won all four Tests in the summer, playing with an aggressive mindset.

However, South African skipper Dean Elgar has questioned the method's longevity. The left-handed opener also threw a challenge to the hosts to try it out against the Proteas seamers.

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Ahead of the opening Test at Lord's, Stokes stated that England will concentrate on what they do best in the series opener despite talks from the opposition camp.

The Durham all-rounder, as quoted by Sky Sports, said:

"The opposition seem to be doing a lot of talking at the moment about it. We just concentrate on what we do. We've got a style of play, they've got a style of play. At the end of the day, it's bat against ball and whoever plays best over a Test match is most likely to win. I'm happy for Dean and the South African team to keep saying they're not interested but also keep talking about it."

England are yet to lose a Test this summer, having whitewashed New Zealand in the three-Test series by chasing 250+ totals thrice on the trot. They also went on to beat India at Edgbaston to register their highest run-chase of 378 in Tests.

"It's about making sure that five-week period doesn't mean we've lost our venom" - Ben Stokes

Stokes, who recently quit one-day cricket, hopes that the Test side hasn't lost the 'venom' after five weeks of white-ball cricket and wants to replicate what they've done in their last four Tests. He added:

"It's about making sure that five-week period doesn't mean we've lost our venom. It would be easy to have so long away to almost forget the place we managed to find ourselves in. The results will look after themselves. If we play to the standard that we have done over the last four Test matches, we know we're going to give ourselves a great opportunity of winning the game."

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The hosts have announced their playing eleven for the Lord's Test against the Proteas. Ben Foakes, who replaced Sam Billings, is the only change from the side that faced India last month.