England captain Ben Stokes says he understands if the decision to bat Jacob Bethell at number three 'does raise a few eyebrows', but insists 'we're not picking people just to wind people up'.
England captain Ben Stokes says he understands if the decision to bat Jacob Bethell at number three "does raise a few eyebrows", but insisted "we're not picking people just to wind people up".
"We've always done what we feel is right for the team. It's gone in our favour quite a lot, so I think we do know what we're doing. Ollie Pope will take the gloves and, in order to manage his workload, slide down from his regular position at number three to six. England could have opted to move Joe Root or Stokes himself up the order, but Stokes said the tourists "didn't want to make it too messy".
Asked if he considered leaving the tour, Stokes replied: "I did actually. It was my wife who told me not to. I always tell the lads that kind of stuff comes first. I asked my wife and she was adamant that I needed to stay out there."
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