Ben Stokes says teams entitled to their behaviour, but backs England's brand of cricket

The white-ball leg of England’s tour of India has shown a remarkable difference in the style of methods of both teams. In the ODI series, the difference got starker as India relied on preserving the wickets in the initial overs whereas England went berserk at the top and opted to carry on with it until it all unravelled and India won the game coming from behind.

Discussing the loss and if they missed out on adapting to different situations where they could have opted for a conservative approach, Eoin Morgan has said that the same brand of cricket has given England resounding success in the past and they will not walk away from it just yet.

Batting styles were not the only contrasting between the two sides as Virat Kohli has been known for his in-your-face attitude while Eoin Morgan had established his reputation as a captain who keeps a cool head irrespective of game situations.

And, like Morgan ruled out a course correction in batting styles, Stokes, who has returned to the 50 overs format after a long break has ruled out walking away from playing with a cool and relatively lesser aggressive mindset.

"Every team and every player has a certain way of operating in the field, which makes them successful. As a team over the last four-five years, that's not the way that works for us," Stokes said on the eve of the second ODI between India and England.

"We stick to what we do best and what we make is to build a better side. Each team is entitled to their way of operations. India have there and we have ours.

He was asked which version of Kohli—a clam, composed one or an aggressive one is preferable to him on the field, to which England’s world cup-winning all-rounder said that only a non-performing version of Virat Kohli is preferable to him and his side. 

"Personally, I prefer Virat doesn't get runs because that's not good for us,” Stokes said.

Stokes reiterated the brand of cricket England have played and the success they have reaped out of their methods over the years to become the number one side in the world, and hence he does not find any reason to drop that idea of playing cricket.

"We deserve to be No 1 because of our results and how we played our cricket and we won't go away from that. Being No 1 is obviously a fantastic thing to have next to your name as a team, but it's not our driving force,” Stokes affirmed.

"Our driving force is the way that we go about it and our attitude towards playing the game. And that's what's made us be successful, and the more successful we are obviously the more chance and the more opportunity we've got to be at No 1."

England have rested Joe Root for the ODI series against India and hence Stokes walked out to bat at the number three position. He could not last long in the first ODI and perished playing an uppish drive as England lost their way in what was deemed as an ‘inflexible’ batting approach by many.

While Stokes realised the change in circumstances that he has to adapt as he will play a lot more balls than when he used to bat at the number five position for a full-strength England team, he said that there are not a lot of changes he is looking to bring in his batting style. 

"At No 3, potentially, I would be facing 100 balls, compared to maybe 60-70 like I normally do. I haven't looked to change too much, just might be facing a slightly different situation, especially when I'm starting off my innings,” Stokes added.

Stokes said that the confidence to bat in his own way has come as even Joe Root has suggested to him that the best way to bat is his natural way and that because the right-hander got successful in a certain way does not mean it will prove to be successful for the left-hander Stokes as well.

"I did actually message Root just asking about his mindset at No 3. He was pretty clear to me and just said play the way that you play. Just because he plays a certain way doesn't mean that I need to try and play like,” Stokes concluded.

England are trailing the three-match long ODI series 0-1 and with the prospect of skipper Eoin Morgan missing the rest of the series due to finger injury, the onus will be on him to provide both stability and firepower to the English batting order.