England batsman Ollie Pope said his team will not abandon their attacking style of batting despite a two-wicket defeat in the opening Ashes Test.
Australia seemed to be playing catch-up throughout the Edgbaston Test but the home team's cavalier attitude while batting meant the world champions remained in the hunt.
Ben Stokes's team surprisingly declared on the opening day on 393 and continued to play aggressively rather than bat the Aussies out of contention in the second innings.
England's best batsman Joe Root was stumped charging down the pitch at Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon having scored 46 from 55 balls in the second innings and other batsmen made good starts but failed to cash in.
However, Pope has full faith in the process, even if the result did not go their way.
“I know sometimes it can look like it's just moments of madness but all the decisions that are made are well thought out with a vision of the end goal,” Pope said.
“These decisions aren't just a rash thought. They are well thought out and spoken about by senior players in the changing room. We come to a group decision and back that decision 100 per cent. There's no looking back on that decision once it's made.”
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Australia's captain Pat Cummins celebrates after hitting the winning runs against England on day five of the Ashes first Test at Edgbaston on June 20, 2023. Getty -
Pat Cummins of Australia celebrates after beating England. Getty -
Pat Cummins of Australia celebrates after hitting the winning runs with teammate Nathan Lyon. Getty -
England captain Ben Stokes reacts. AP -
Joe Root of England celebrates with Ben Stokes after catching Alex Carey of Australia off his own bowling. Getty -
England captain Ben Stokes celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia's Usman Khawaja. PA -
Ollie Robinson of England celebrates after taking the wicket of Cameron Green. Getty -
Australia's Cameron Green is bowled by Ollie Robinson. AFP -
England's Ollie Robinson celebrates after taking the wicket of Cameron Green. Getty -
Australia's Cameron Green is bowled by England's Ollie Robinson during day five of the first Ashes test match at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Picture date: Tuesday June 20, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story CRICKET England. Photo credit should read: Mike Egerton/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the ECB. Still image use only. No moving images to emulate broadcast. No removing or obscuring of sponsor logos. -
Moeen Ali of England celebrates with Ben Stokes after taking the wicket of Travis Head. Getty -
England's Moeen Ali celebrates after dismissing Australia's Travis Head. AP -
England's Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia's Scott Boland on day five of the first Ashes Test match at Edgbaston on June 20, 2023. PA -
Australia's Scott Boland after being dismissed by England's Stuart Broad. PA -
Australia's Scott Boland ducks under a short ball. AFP -
Travis Head of Australia hits out. Getty
Another defeat at Lord's would leave England's hopes of reclaiming the Ashes hanging by a thread and facing a first home series defeat by Australia since 2001.
“We might find ourselves in a similar situation this week, who knows? That's what Stokesy and Baz [coach Brendon McCullum] are very good at, they read conditions very well,” Pope said of whether England could again declare early.
“We'll talk consistently throughout this Test match, if there's a decision like the first day at Edgbaston.
One player England will keep a close eye on is Moeen Ali. The returning off-spinner put in a marathon effort in the first game but skin on his bowling finger was damaged to such a degree, he was finding it difficult to bowl the ball.
England have called up 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed as cover, or could recall fast bowler Mark Wood and lean on Root's part-time off-breaks.
