“He came to Baz and said, ‘I want to take the Aussies on’” - Ben Stokes opens up on why Moeen Ali batted at No. 3 in Headingley chase 

England captain Ben Stokes has divulged that all-rounder Moeen Ali himself went up to coach Brendon McCullum and requested that he be sent to bat at No. 3 in the chase at Headingley. While Moeen was bowled for 5 by Mitchell Starc, Stokes hailed the senior cricketer for wanting to put his hand up for the team.

England beat Australia by three wickets in a thrilling Test at Headingley on Sunday, July 9 to keep their Ashes 2023 hopes alive. Chasing 251, England got home courtesy of Harry Brook’s 75 and crucial cameos from Chris Woakes (32*) and Mark Wood (16*).

In a surprise move, Moeen walked out to bat at No. 3 after Ben Duckett was trapped lbw by Starc for 23. Opening up on the change in the batting order, Stokes revealed that the suggestion came from the man himself.

"He came to 'Baz' (McCullum) last night and said, 'I want to go at three, I want to take the Aussies on in this run chase', basically (saying) 'Let me out there'." And when we thought about it, we actually thought that (Moeen) coming in at three, he was able to impact the game more than he would be at number seven,” the England skipper said.

Even though the left-handed batter did not have a say in the chase, he earned plaudits from his skipper for taking the initiative.

Praising Moeen, Stokes commented:

"I just loved the fact that Mo is willing to put himself in those situations, that he wants to get out there and help the team in a positive way. When I took the (captaincy) role on, I asked for 10 other selfless cricketers, and that little moment of Mo going to Baz and saying, 'I want the opportunity' is everything that we're about as a team."

Incidentally, Moeen was not part of England’s original Ashes plan but came out of Test retirement after receiving an SOS from Stokes following the injury to Jack Leach.

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“What's in front of us is way more important” - Stokes on Headingley win

While expressing elation at England’s much-needed win, Stokes admitted that the hosts have a bigger task in front of them. They need to win the next two Tests to clinch Ashes 2023, which is nothing short of a herculean task against an extremely strong Australian side.

Stokes said after England’s Headingley triumph:

"We got over the line but we know the job at hand and what's in front of us is way more important than what's been said, and what's been done. And it will be the same again in Manchester, albeit after another great game of cricket and we've kept the series at 2-1. We just have to park everything from this week but also continue in the way in which we play because I said last week at Lord's, we find ourselves in the perfect position for the way we play cricket."

The fourth Ashes 2023 Test will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester from July 19 to 23.