Pakistan vs England: ‘I've got no interest in trying to play for a draw,’ Ben Stokes shares team’s motto

Pakistan vs England: ‘I've got no interest in trying to play for a draw,’ Ben Stokes shares team’s motto

Pakistan vs England: ‘I've got no interest in trying to play for a draw,’ Ben Stokes shares team’s motto
Linkup

England skipper Ben Stokes who is already a sort of legend for English cricket was ecstatic after his side beat Pakistan by 74 runs in the first Test in Rawalpindi moments before the end of Day 5’s play.

While Stokes praised his players, he also said that the stomach bug that hit the squad before the start of the game seems a long time ago, and rightly so after the manner in which they dominated the Test for the most part of five days.

“Some of the things we can’t plan for is what happened to the squad before the Test. Seems a long time ago when we were running around to find players for the Test. Will Jacks getting the message three minutes before the toss, and Pope getting the gloves,” Stokes said at the post-match presentation.

Watch: England fielders surround Naseem Shah for final wicket

The skipper also said that he along with Coach Brendon McCullum tries to focus on themselves and not much on the opposition.

“We’ve played eight-nine matches with myself and Brendon in charge. One thing we try to do is focus on ourselves and not the opposition. We know we’re a very exciting team. Was a great batting surface, so it was an opportunity for our batting group.

“Having the lads tuck in like they did today was amazing. Really special group of players.”


Talking about the manner in which the team functions, he also said that they are not interested in playing out a draw.

“We wanted to come here to Pakistan and carry on with our mantra of exciting cricket. I’ve got no interest in trying to play for a draw, the dressing room has no interest in playing for a draw.

“Felt on this kind of wicket, almost had to entice the batsmen to play an attacking shot. Today we were fortunate to get the ball reverse-swinging.”

The all-rounder was also vocal about the manner in which the English quicks bowled.

“James Anderson and Ollie Robinson were fantastic today. We won probably about eight minutes before we would’ve come off. This is probably up there as one of England’s greatest away wins,” Stokes concluded.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.