‘I wouldn’t have declared’- Former England skipper slams Ben Stokes’ decision to declare England’s first innings in the first Test against Australia

In the first Test of the Ashes 2023, England hosted Australia at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. After winning the toss, England opted to bat first and their decision went well with the team as they scored with a ‘Bazball’ approach and outplayed the Australian bowlers on Day 1.

However, their Bazball approach also led them to take a bold decision as England declared their first innings for 393 for 8 in 78 overs. The bold decision of Ben Stokes attracted some fumes from former legends as they slammed Stokes’s ‘immature’ decision.

Former England legend Michael Vaughan said,

“I wouldn’t have declared. You just don’t know what is going to happen. England are trying to send a message no team has ever done before. I, as a captain, would’ve wanted a few more runs, especially with Joe Root out there. Even though England didn’t get the wicket, it creates what the Ashes is all about – Warner and Khawaja, two experienced pros, were running like kids.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Pietersen said that anything above 400 would have been a good total in the first innings.

He said, “I don’t think that’s the nature of his captaincy (in and out fields from Stokes). It’s difficult to answer because we did not see much in it this evening. And I did that Test match last year against India with you guys, it was a wicket that did get better for batting, and I think that tomorrow (Saturday) could be the most beautiful day. That’s why I am… I didn’t like the declaration. We will find out if it’s the right thing to have done. I always got told 400… get to 400, 450 in the first innings of a Test match. It’s psychological. Maybe I am being too critical, I don’t know, we will see.”

“Stokes is giving England a full chance to win”, says Ricky Ponting

Meanwhile, speaking on the declaration call, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said that he was expecting it as it will help England to get a full chance to win the game rather than going for a draw.

He said, “We were sort of expecting it, weren’t we? They were up with the scoring rate and had a chance to get the Australians out for 15-20 minutes tonight. I love it, to be honest. That’s all about Ben Stokes and the new attitude of this current England regime under Stokes and McCullum,” Ponting was quoted as saying to the official broadcasters.

“They are doing everything to take the game forward and give themselves the best chance of winning games. They are trying to capitalise and seize the moment”, Ponting further added.

Notably, Australia batted four overs in the evening before stumps and will be keen to get ahead of England’s score. Opener Usman Khawaja and David Warner are on strike and will be looking to give their team a well-made base.