“Stokes will get it wrong occasionally, but he is desperate to entertain” - Nasser Hussain back England captain amid criticism over early declaration 

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has backed Ben Stokes over his decision to declare on Day 1 of the first Ashes 2023 Test at Edgbaston. Many critics have questioned the logic of Stokes’ declaration after Australia won the Test by two wickets on Day 5, chasing down a target of 281.

On Day 1 of the Test, England won the toss and opted to bat first. They were 393-8 after 78 overs, with Joe Root unbeaten on 118 off 152 when Stokes came up with a surprise declaration.

Australia responded with 386 as Usman Khawaja anchored the innings with 141. England then scored 273 in their second innings in 66.2 overs. They set Australia a target of 281, which the visitors chased down on Day 5 with two wickets remaining.

In his column for The Daily Mail, Hussain refused to be critical of Stokes’ declaration:

“People will inevitably look back to England's declaration for its part in the result, and yes, if you apply cricket logic, they should have batted on with Joe Root and Ollie Robinson in. But this England team have their own logic, and it's helped them win 11 of 14.

"I certainly won't be going down the road of criticising them for keeping the game moving forward and entertaining people with a different style of Test cricket," he added.

Praising Stokes, he hailed the England captain’s thought process and mindset to play entertaining Test cricket. Hussain wrote:

“Ben Stokes will get it wrong occasionally, but he is desperate to entertain, and you can't tell me that anyone who has been at the ground for the past five days - there were still 25,000 there at 7 pm on Monday and Tuesday nights - has not enjoyed what they have seen.

“At a time when Test match cricket is vulnerable, all of those people would want to come back and watch a match like that again. That's the bigger picture,” he concluded.

Stokes scored 43 in the second innings. With the ball, he dismissed Steve Smith in the first innings and Usman Khawaja in the second.

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Ben Stokes has no regrets over declaration

At the post-match presentation ceremony, England captain Stokes said that he had no regrets about his declaration despite the loss. Asked about the same, he replied:

“Not at all (no regrets), I saw it as a chance to pounce on Australia. Never easy for someone to go out and bat 20 minutes. Who knows? Maybe Root and Jimmy (James Anderson) could have got out, and we would have been in the same place.”

Australia were 227-8 in their chase at Edgbaston on Tuesday, but captain Pat Cummins (44*) guided the visitors home along with Nathan Lyon (16*).