Ben Stokes expressed that the predicted bad weather in Manchester could lead England to adopt an even more aggressive approach as they strive to keep their Ashes hopes alive by winning the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
Following England's thrilling three-wicket victory at Headingley, they remained in contention to reclaim the Ashes from their arch-rivals Australia. The series stands at 2-1 in favor of Australia, with two matches remaining at Old Trafford and The Oval.
Under the leadership of captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England has embraced a bold and aggressive style of play, commonly referred to as 'Bazball,' in red-ball cricket.
However, with heavy rain expected on the fourth and fifth days of the match in Manchester, England might need to increase their tempo in order to push for a win.
The adverse weather conditions could force them to adopt a more attacking approach in order to secure victory within the limited playing time available. The fourth Test is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
"You never want to look too much into the weather but in the position we find ourselves in, we find we might have to," Stokes told an Old Trafford news conference on Tuesday.
"We know we have to win this game to take it to the last game for us to have a chance of getting the urn back.
"Going into the last game 2-0 down, we knew we had to win that so I think that helped us a little bit. Maybe again with the weather that's predicted, it might bring more out of us again knowing that we might have to push the game on even more than we normally do.
"We'll just have to wait and see. If the weather is what it's predicted to be, we might have to."
England are bidding to become only the second side in history to win an Ashes from 2-0 down following the Australia team of 1936/37 that, inspired by batting great Don Bradman, overturned such a deficit to triumph 3-2.
The current series had drawn comparisons with England's celebrated 2-1 victory over Australia in 2005 and all-rounder Stokes, asked if this could be the greatest series, replied: "If we win this one then going into the last game at 2-2, it would be hard not to say this is the best men's Ashes series in a long time, if not the best.
"Overall, take away Australia and England, the cricket that's been played has been absolutely brilliant. Everyone who's watched at the ground or at home on TV has just really enjoyed the cricket that's been played.
"There have been some pretty special moments out on the cricket ground, some special individual performances as well."
England have recalled record wicket-taker James Anderson on his Lancashire home ground, where he has an end named in his honour, as he replaces fellow seamer Ollie Robinson in the only change to their XI at Headingley.
Anderson, 41 later this month, took just three wickets at an expensive average of 75 in the first two Tests.
"When you're quality performer like Jimmy has been for the last 10 years, he is going to be disappointed that he's not contributed to the team like he normally does," Stokes said. "But I did say to him 'even if you're not taking wickets like you want to be doing, at the other end you see the pressure you're putting on the opposition'.
"He holds an end up without that being his main obligation with the ball. You don't get as many wickets as him without having the odd bad game here and there -- there's no issues whatsoever with Jimmy."
(With AFP inputs)
