Stokes-led England urged to 'use their brains' for Ashes remainder

KARACHI: Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott on Monday advised the Ben Stokes-led side to be more strategic and thoughtful in their approach as they aim to level the ongoing Ashes series against Australia, with the second Test scheduled to commence on Thursday in Brisbane.

England suffered an agonising eight-wicket defeat in the series opener in Perth, which lasted less than two days, the first of which was dominated by the touring side as they had reduced the hosts to 123/9 after accumulating 172 all out.

The visitors now face another gruelling challenge in the blockbuster series as they take on the Baggy Greens in a pink-ball Test, in which the hosts boast a dominant record, having lost just one out of their previous 14 appearances, but Boycott, who has won Ashes both in England and Australia, believes that the Three Lions can win the upcoming game by adopting a calculated strategy.

He, however, warned England batters of self-destruction, advising them to "use their brains" and decide whether to attack or hold back after analysing the situation.

"But it doesn't help our chances of success if Ben Stokes keeps encouraging our batsmen to attack, attack with one finger hovering over the self-destruct button," Boycott wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.

"Nobody is asking the players to stop being positive because they have given us some marvellous, thrilling and entertaining cricket. All we ask is for them to use their brains and realise there are times when they should throttle back and be aware of situations and bat accordingly," he added.

Boycott, who represented England in 108 Tests and 36 ODIs, also slammed Stokes for his comments in which he referred to former cricketers as "has-beens" but expressed satisfaction over the all-rounder's partial apology.

"To call past players 'has-beens' was disrespectful especially as some of those 'has-beens' played in teams that won the Ashes in England and Australia," Boycott wrote.

"I am glad Ben has half apologised, saying it was a slip of the tongue, because none of this team have won the Ashes in Australia. Get the job done, because then you don't need to say anything and you can bask in all the glory coming your way."