WE’RE SET FOR A REAL SCRAP

BEN STOKES and his England team-mates are braced for an Australian backlash at Lord’s tomorrow.

But he knows Alastair Cook’s side will take a giant stride towards regaining the urn if they win the second Investec Test. Stokes also did not deny vengeance was a huge motivating factor after being part of the side that was whitewashed Down Under on England’s last tour.

“It’s massive,” he said. “When Rooty caught the catch at the end it was amazing, but when they were eight down I was thinking about how we felt when we were getting beat every game last time. After what they did to us in Australia, it was pretty cool.

“If we can walk away at the end of five days – or four days if we can – and we are 2-0 up then we will be in a really good position to win the Ashes.

“That said, Australia are 1-0 down and they’ll want to get some revenge here because we beat them inside four days, which was probably a shock to them.

“This game might be played in a different way.”

Stokes was targeted in Cardiff with Brad Haddin, David Warner and Steve Smith trying to upset him. The 24-year-old has been been known to get in opponents’ faces and was given a ‘salute’ send-off by West Indies’ Marlon Samuels in the spring.

Haddin took him on about his habit of sweeping dirt from the wicket with his bat, there was some attempted obstruction at the crease by Warner and Smith was chatting away at the Durham all-rounder.

“Getting in my way at the crease was pretty silly really,” Stokes said.

“I just said (to Warner), ‘You can stand there all day because I’m not moving until you move. If you want to get your captain’s over rate down then so be it’.

“I guess they are just trying to get me to react but it just did not work.

“Rooty said if they’re trying to do that they must think we’re on top. If they do that for the rest of the series, fair enough.

“But there was hardly as much as was said in Australia and I’m not quite sure why that was. I don’t think they went flat as some people said and they never dropped off in intensity.”

Stokes managed 94 runs, a catch and a wicket in Cardiff, but did not feel under extra pressure after skipper Cook compared him to Ian Botham before the game.

“People might say that is extra pressure but I don’t find there is,” he said.

“Being an all-rounder you’re probably going to get compared to the Bothams and the Flintoffs as I have done recently.

“I’m not looking to emulate them. I’m Ben Stokes, and I’m just going to go about my cricket in the way I want to do it.” Investec are the title sponsor of the Ashes. For more on Investec private banking visit investec.co.uk/pb