|| Desk Report ||

England all-rounder Ben Stokes said, from the first morning of the first Test match they want to stamp their authority over Australia in the upcoming Ashes series. England lost their last Ashes 4-0 to Australia and if they want to regain the Ashes they need to strike the first blow, Stokes said

The all-rounder believes it will be difficult to come back if they go 1-0 down in the series first up.

"You can't feel your way into any Ashes series. You have to hit the ground running. That first morning is when you want to stamp your authority on the series with bat and ball. Getting off to a good start can make it flow throughout the series, so you want to be the team on top and you want to win that first day. If you go 1-0 down in a series it can be hard to come back from," Stokes said at ESPN Cricinfo. 

Stokes also put pressure on the Aussie players who are coming back from the sandpaper incident of South Africa: Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft. England won't be making this easy for them. Stokes wants to let the Australian players know that they serious and there won't be any easing into a spell or finding a way with the bat.

"It's definitely important to put them under pressure if they bat first. Davey Warner is a player who can take games away from you. He is a phenomenal batsman and very dangerous opener so to tie him down and not let him establish his authority against us would be a really big plus for us for the rest of the series. The drive is going to be there for him to perform. And it will be the same for Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith," Stokes added.