ADELAIDE: With a wry smirk Ben Stokes has confirmed what he’ll do at the toss in Adelaide should the coin come down in his favour, delivering a sledge to Nasser Hussain along the way.
Hussain famously chose to bowl at the Gabba in 2002, with Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting scoring hundreds in the first innings. The Aussies went on to win by 384 runs.
With Adelaide set to be 35 and 37 degrees across the first two days, Stokes was asked what he’d do at the toss for the third Test. Without saying it outright, he made it clear England would be batting.
READ MORE: ‘Much-loved’ Paralympic bronze medallist dies
READ MORE: ‘Got plenty left’: Storm optimistic about star’s return
READ MORE: Man United fans livid after throat grab double standard
“It’s going to be pretty hot day one and two, I’m pretty sure I’ve become a meme or GIF at some point in my career,” he said.
“I don’t want to be another Nasser Hussain,” he added with a smirk.
Nasser Hussain and Ben Stokes. Nine
Stokes’ men are under significant pressure to deliver a result at the Adelaide Oval, with the series 2-0 in Australia’s favour.
Only one change was made to the team as Gus Atkinson made way for Josh Tongue.
Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir wasn’t expected to play the first two Tests but Adelaide appeared his most likely introduction.
Shoaib Bashir. Getty
However, Will Jacks will go in as the frontline spinner with Bashir now in a position where he’ll wonder what role he plays in this squad.
“It’s obviously disappointing for Bash to not get the opportunity later in the series where he thought he was going to,” Stokes said.
“We didn’t think we’d be in a situation at 2-0 down after two and having to win the three, so we’ve had to make tough decisions before the series and we will continue to make tough decisions if we feel like that’s going to give us the best chance to win a game.
“… It’s very tough on Bash, [he] completely understood the reason for that, we always pick an XI that we feel will give us the best chance to win a game.”
