Ben Stokes opens up on Moeen Ali's surprise batting promotion and latter's willingness to sail through pressure

England captain Ben Stokes disclosed that all-rounder Moeen Ali told head coach Brendon McCullum that he wanted to bat at number three in the final innings of the third Ashes Test at Headingley in Leeds. England finally opened their account in the five-game series, outplaying Australia by three wickets on Day 4 of the third Test, now trailing 1-2.

After registering their first win in the ongoing Ashes series, Stokes explained why Ali batted at number three and how it impacted England's innings. After Stumps on Day 3, the English skipper said that the veteran all-rounder requested McCullum to promote him to the top order. 

Stokes added that he and the coach believed Ali would be able to contribute to the game more than he would down the order. Notably, Ali's plea for promotion could be determined as just another tactical move of England's 'Bazball' approach.

"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," Stokes was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.au.

Stokes went on to praise Ali, saying that he is always wanting to put himself in difficult situations. The 32-year-old further said that the moment of Ali going to McCullum and saying, 'I want the opportunity' was appreciable. 

"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," the English skipper added.