Ben Stokes urges England to provide champagne cricket in blockbuster India sequence – as he reveals why he’s backing Ollie Pope

Ben Stokes recommended England are prepared to provide champagne cricket over the subsequent seven months as they give the impression of being to topple India and declare a primary Ashes away win for 15 years.

‘Everybody’s clearly completely fizzing to get going,’ mentioned Stokes on the eve of Friday’s opening match of 5 towards India at Headingley.

Stokes has revitalised English cricket, the Take a look at facet having gained 23 of 36 matches since he changed Joe Root on the helm in 2022, however his legacy will likely be decided by whether or not his staff are in a position to construct on these outcomes over the subsequent 10 matches.

‘There’s at all times a special buzz developing towards India and Australia particularly, purely due to how massive the sequence are,’ the 34-year-old all-rounder admitted.

‘Away from the dressing room, we all know what these sequence imply.’

Whereas India’s high order will likely be a lot modified after the retirements of superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli — with their new captain Shubman Gill dropping right down to No 4 — England have opted for continuity in deciding on Ollie Pope forward of Jacob Bethell at No 3.

The England captain mentioned that everybody within the squad is ‘fizzing to get going’ at Headingley

Stokes additionally gave his backing to Ollie Pope after conserving religion with the Surrey batter at No 3

‘It could be exceptional to decide on another person if their final knock was 171, that is just about all I must say on that,’ mentioned Stokes of Pope, after his ton towards Zimbabwe final month.

‘Having him at No 3 since I have been captain, averaging over 40, speaks for itself.’