Ben Stokes has hinted that England will bat first should he win the toss in the third Test against Australia in Adelaide.
It is forecast to be scorchingly hot in Adelaide this week, with temperatures reaching 32C on Wednesday’s opening day and 37C on Thursday’s day two, before dropping slightly at the back end of the match.
England must win the Test to keep up any hope of winning the Ashes, having lost the opening two games in Perth and Brisbane in chastening defeats, and the toss could prove pivotal to the outcome in South Australia.
Stokes has often chosen to bowl first during his captaincy, preferring to chase down targets in the fourth innings with the bat. But with conditions likely to favour the batters on the opening days, and offer a brutal environment for bowlers to get through their overs, he hinted at batting first with a nod to one of England’s most infamous calls.
“It’s going to be pretty hot day one and two,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve become a meme or gif at some point in my career – I don’t want to be another Nasser Hussain.”
Hussain won the toss in the first Test of the 2002/03 Ashes and infamously chose to bowl first at the Gabba, surprising Australia and even his own teammates with a decision which was heavily criticised. Australia racked up first-innings centuries through Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting before winning the Test by 384 runs, and went on to win the series 4-1.
The tourists have made only one change to their XI from the eight-wicket loss in Brisbane, bringing in seamer Josh Tongue for Gus Atkinson. Young spinner Shoaib Bashir was overlooked for the third Test in succession, which Stokes said was due to England’s perilous position in the series.
“We didn’t think we’d be in a situation at 2-0 down after two and having to win the (last) three,” he said. “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.”
