Ashes 2023: I thought it was a brilliant declaration – Mark Taylor on Ben Stokes’ bold decision in opening Test

While Ben Stokes’ bold declaration in the first innings of the opening Test against Australia, drew a lot of criticism after England lost by two wickets, former Australian skipper Mark Taylor claimed it was a brilliant declaration from the English skipper.

At 393-8, Stokes decided to declare in the first innings after 78 overs despite having a well-settled Joe Root at the crease. Stokes later revealed it was a chance to pounce on Australia and he had no regrets on his decision despite the loss.

Taylor feels Stokes’ bold declaration had put David Warner and Usman Khawaja under the cosh and the same was palpable in the way they ran between the wickets despite playing together for a long time. Though England was not able to take any wickets on the opening day of the Test match, Stokes had sent a strong message to the opposition.

Mark Taylor told Michael Atherton for the Times, “Ninety-nine percent of captains would take 400 in the first innings, so now Stokes is thinking, ‘I can put Warner and Khawaja under pressure for 25 minutes.’ To me, it’s a no-brainer. I thought it was a brilliant declaration.

“They didn’t take any wickets in that final 25 minutes but did you see the running between the wickets from Warner and Khawaja that night? Panicky. They have played cricket together since under-14s but were running like they’d never batted before together. A couple of 36-year-olds, one with more than 100 Tests, one with nearly 70, and they are running like they’ve never played before. All because of that declaration,” said Taylor.

Taylor added that Bazball suits England’s style of play as the batters are aggressive and feel the previous approach was not working for them. England has won 11 out of their last 14 matches under new head coach Brendon McCullum.

The likes of Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Harry Brook have been scoring at a brisk pace in Test cricket.

“Bazball suits England cricket at the moment because the side was playing very poorly leading into this era, and your best players are aggressive players,” Taylor tells Mike Atherton in The Times.

The second Ashes Test will be played at Lord’s, from June 28 onwards.