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England captain Ben Stokes made it clear that his side will respond kindly if the Indian team tries to sledge them in the upcoming Test at Old Trafford which will commence from July 23. This comes after multiple verbal spats took place between players from the two teams during the third Test at Lord's. The tempers flared big time during the match with both teams not ready to back down and wanting to give back the same energy to each other.
On the eve of the fourth Test, Stokes stated that his side won't necessarily try to sledge Indian players, but added that there is a lot of pressure on both sides and it would only take a single moment in the match for the temperatures to boil over once again.
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"I don't think it's one of those things where we're going to necessarily just go out and start at (sledging). I don't think either team's really looked to do that. I think there's always going to be a moment in a Test series where something does heat up. It's a massive series and there's a lot of pressure on both teams to perform," Stokes said in the pre-match press-conference.
Stokes also issued a firm warning to Shubman Gill & Co. and stated that his team won't take sledging from their opponents lightly.
"As I said, it's not something that we're going to purposely go out and look to start because then that will take our focus off what we actually need to do out in the middle. But by no means, we're not going to take a backward step and let any opposition try to be confrontational towards us," Stokes added.
"And not try to give a bit back. I think that goes for most teams, to be honest anyway. So, it's not like we're the only team who does that. But the series has been great to play. It has been great to watch. All five days, all three Tests so far. Quality of cricket has been outstanding," he further said.
England have made a massive change to their playing XI
Meanwhile, England have made a big change to their playing XI for the fourth Test against India. They have brought in veteran all-rounder Liam Dawson back into the XI after 8 years of absence. The 35-year-old has replaced Shoaib Bashir in the team, who has gotten ruled out of the remaining two matches after sustaining a finger injury in the third Test.
England's playing XI for fourth Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.
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