Stokes has "no regrets" about enforcing the follow on despite England loss

28 February 2023 , 07:12

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Ben Stokes has no regrets over enforcing the follow on, despite England falling just short of victory (Image: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

England captain Ben Stokes has insisted he "doesn't regret" enforcing the follow on, despite his side ultimately losing to New Zealand by just one run in a thrilling finish.

While Stokes was obviously "disappointed" with the defeat, which sees England become just the fourth side to lose a Test after making their opponents follow on, he credited New Zealand's "pretty much perfect" fightback and rejected the idea of "captaining in hindsight".

Stokes and Brendon McCullum have spoken openly about wanting to ensure Test cricket is as entertaining as possible and are prepared to risk losing games as they attempt to win them.

And, with this Test just the second one in history to be won by a solitary run, Stokes claimed the "bigger picture" of such an enthralling finish is "probably bigger" than the result itself.

"Imagine captaining in hindsight? That's not something I would ever do," he said when asked about his decision to enforce the follow on. "It was always our game to lose once we enforced the follow on.

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"But the logic behind it was that our opening bowlers have ripped through their top-order for three innings in a row. We knew that New Zealand had to pretty much play the perfect game to put us in a situation like this.

New Zealand celebrate their dramatic one-run victory (Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

"Batting in the last innings, chasing 250 is something that we were never worried about. But give huge credit to New Zealand, not only to the way that they played in the second innings, but also the way that they bowled and managed to get very early wickets with not too many runs on the board.

"So in terms of looking back and making my decision around the follow on, no, I don't regret it. Other teams are allowed to play better than us and New Zealand have played better than us this week.

"It's disappointing to not win, obviously. But we look at the bigger picture of what everyone's enjoyed and seen here today. It's probably bigger than the disappointment at the moment."

Matthew Cooper