Day one of fourth Ashes Test: England won’t hold back in bid to level series
The hosts trail 2-1 with two matches to go.
Ben Stokes insists his England side are ready to give everything they have to level the Ashes and take a memorable series all the way to the wire.
The hosts find themselves 2-1 down after three pulsating games, losing tight finishes at Edgbaston and Lord’s before coming through strongly at Headingley to keep their hopes of regaining the urn alive.
Another win this week at Emirates Old Trafford would tee up a winner-takes-all decider at the Kia Oval, while Australia are looking to seal an outright victory on English soil for the first time in 22 years.
The stakes are clear for both teams, but England have the added wrinkle of knowing a rain-affected draw would be enough for Australia to retain the urn as holders.
The weather forecast predicts things to take a turn for the worse over the weekend, meaning much of the running will need to be done in the first three days.
“Everything is on the line. The team knows there’s no point holding anything back in this game,” Stokes said.
“Everyone is going to go out there this week and throw absolutely everything at it. If we were to shy away from the task at hand, then I think that wouldn’t get my best out of us as a team in terms of the personnel that we have at the moment.
“Obviously knowing we need to win this one, knowing that we could have a bit of weather around taking some time out of the game, that probably suits us even more to be honest.
“It would be amazing (to go 2-2), that last game would be everywhere. If that does happen and we do go to The Oval level, we’ll be challenging 2005 for one of the best series in England.”
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