The England allrounder has urged his teammates to forget about their struggles on the first two days and take inspiration from Australia's performance with the bat during the day time
Ben Stokes has urged his England teammates to keep believing they can win despite a challenging position in the second Test in Adelaide.
England will resume on the third day at 17 for 2 having lost both openers early in reply to Australia’s 473 for 9 declared. Australia are already one-up in the series having won the first Test in Brisbane by nine wickets.
But while Stokes admits the match position is "not ideal" he feels England have a decent opportunity on the third day. For although both openers were out batting under lights, when England restart on Saturday, they will have the chance to bat in natural light
"We haven’t batted that long and losing two wickets isn’t ideal," Stokes said. "Facing the new ball under lights is completely different.
"But tomorrow is going to be a good day for batting. There will be no lights and Australia showed us that, once you get in, it's pretty hard to get out. They showed us how to capitalise if you get in.
Stokes has been deputising for Mark Wood with the ball in Adelaide, bowling several sustained spells of short deliveries [Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images]
"So, we park everything, like we parked the result in Brisbane. If you don’t believe, you’re beaten already."
The tour as so far represented a tough return to Test cricket for Stokes. After a modest performance in Brisbane, he was required to bowl 25 overs in Australia’s first innings here and admits to a few aches and pains. But despite all that, he insists he is loving his return and the sight of the Australia team wearing black armbands in honour of the five children who died in a bouncy castle accident in Tasmania has ensured England’s own disappointments are kept in perspective.
"If you’re don’t feel sore getting up in the morning, you’ve probably not done what’s required of you," Stokes said. "You’ve just got to love the dirt when you get that deep [into an innings] and understand what you’re playing for. I think, as well, the reason why the Australians were wearing black armbands puts a lot of things in perspective.
"I’ve loved every minute of it. Walking out and wearing the three lions is one of the great feelings. Playing away from home at these grounds in Australia makes it more difficult. But it’s fantastic fun as well as being a huge honour."
In the absence of Mark Wood, who has been rested for this game, Stokes was asked to provide the point of difference in the England attack. He did that with several sustained spells of short deliveries and was rewarded, up to a point, with three wickets.
"It was about trying to create a different type of environment out there for the batters," Stokes said. "It does look odd when you run and bowl 11 overs of short stuff, but in my first couple of spells I felt like I was creating quite a lot of chances and they weren't really going anywhere.
"It wasn't until the third spell today that we started to leak a few runs. But you can create chances and leak a few runs by trying to hit the top off as well.
"I’m fine. I’m edging over 30 and I’m sure your body changes once you get over that mark. But I’m all good."
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