Was it a mistake for Stokes not to declare?

Joe Root played a masterful innings, remaining unbeaten on 135, as he helped England recover on the opening day of the second Ashes Test. The team was struggling at 5-2 before Root and Jofra Archer put together an unbroken last-wicket stand of 61, pushing England to a total of 325-9 by the end of play.

The question arises: did Ben Stokes make the best call by choosing not to declare? In day-night Tests, the pink ball is notoriously tricky for batsmen early under the lights. Had England declared at the fall of the ninth wicket, they would have gained roughly 30 minutes to bowl at Australia in favorable conditions.

Former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath explained on the BBC's Daily Ashes Debrief, "The tactic in day-night games is to attack with the new ball under lights. Stokes probably assumed Jofra wouldn't last long." He added that Australias bowling was subpar, noting a lack of bouncers and inconsistent pace.

On the other hand, former England skipper Michael Vaughan supported Stokes choice to continue batting. "When Jofra went in, he was told to be aggressive. Once he started hitting a few, the instruction was to persist," Vaughan commented. "Batting for another 2030 minutes on the next day makes the pink ball trickier for Australia during twilight and adds crucial runs, giving England more flexibility for the second innings."

Author: Caleb Jennings