England captain Ben Stokes 'devastated' by Ashes snub to North

After back-to-back defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s, England kept their hopes of regaining the urn this summer alive with a memorable victory at a bouncing Headingley.

That was just the latest in the venue’s list of famous Ashes days, which also includes Stokes’ innings of a lifetime in 2019 and Sir Ian Botham’s heroics in 1981.

England are hoping to square this summer’s series at 2-2 in front of a sold out Emirates Old Trafford this week, but there is increasing disquiet about the allocation of matches for the next Australian visit in four years.

Yorkshire and Lancashire have both been overlooked, with Nottingham’s Trent Bridge the most northerly host.

The Ageas Bowl, near Southampton, has been added to the Ashes roster for the first time, with other matches at Lord’s, The Kia Oval and Edgbaston.

Headingley will host the women’s Ashes Test that summer, but Stokes was clearly frustrated by the uneven geographical split in the men’s series. Speaking on the eve of the Old Trafford Test, the England captain said: “I think it’s always a loud atmosphere here.

“You know the crowds we get in the north – and I say ‘the North’ quite bluntly there – are very good. We get a lot of support.

“I think we perform well in the northern grounds, especially at Headingley. So yeah, I’m a bit devastated that there won’t be any Ashes cricket here in 2027 in the north. It’s a shame.

“I don’t make those calls but, if I was involved, I would have said ‘please keep at least one game in the north’.”

Stokes, and England, have based their approach around ultra-aggressive batting and bold declarations. Expect more of the same in the coming days if the weather begins to eat away at England’s chances in Manchester.

“I think we always try and look to be creative, I think the way in which we play will force the game on anyway. There might just be a few different tactical decisions to make,” he said.

“If there is potentially even 100 overs lost in the game, we might have to look at pressing the game on quicker than we normally would. I don’t know how they’ll play this game; we do know that they just need a draw to retain the Ashes. I’m not looking too much into that, but I do understand it.

“You never want to look too much into the weather but in the position we find ourselves in, we might find we have to. We know we have to win this game for us to have a chance of getting the urn back. It might bring more out of us again knowing that we might have to push the game on even more than we normally do.”

Stokes is desperate to deliver a fitting climax by setting up a winner-takes-all finale but hopes the feelgood factor can outlive the series regardless of outcome.

“I hope this craze around cricket doesn’t get lost if things don’t go our way in this Ashes,” he said.

“I think we have captured the imagination of a few more people. It would be amazing (to win here).”