Alex Lees

India set the winning line at 378, higher than any England side has ever managed, but the hosts need just 119 more with seven wickets in hand.

He had a few words, I had a few words but that’s the edge Test cricket has in it. You know the target is there but you just try and put it into the background. Lees was essentially blameless in his own downfall, run out after a poor call from Root at the non-striker’s end. “I wasn’t going to back down. “I think we’re just very optimistic about it. “I saw him briefly when he came to the field, he was obviously gutted, but he’s a top guy and hopefully he’ll get the job done tomorrow.

England v India, Test 2022: Batsman Alex Lees says Ben Stokes turned game at Edgbaston around on day four.

The pleasing thing for me is we're in an amazing position as a team. The target's in the background, but not something we've necessarily spoken about." On a personal level, being run out in two innings is hard to take. "We know we have to play positively to put the bowlers under pressure. That was the defining moment for me. "Stokesy's spell turned the game on its head.

'Bazball' has sparked English Test cricket back into life, with opener Alex Lees one of its biggest beneficiaries.

If Crawley leaves like he has today, he will have a much longer Test career." I just tried to hit the ball where the fielders weren’t. I think it shows he has been told to go out and express himself. If I am honest, I wanted to hit him for six first ball but yorked myself! For the left-handers in this team, I think is for us to have a go at the left-arm spinner. Jonny Bairstow's brutal 77-ball ton obviously hogged the headlines but Lees' 44, during which he hit three boundaries off Tim Southee in the first over, signalled England's intent.

Alex Lees says there is confidence in the England dressing room that they can score the remaining 119 runs required to beat India on the final day at ...

Again, he was not entirely to blame, with Joe Root calling him through for a quick single when the ball squirted behind him. “On a personal level, being run out in two innings is hard to take. The thing that brought us back into the game was our bowling. That was the defining moment for me. That’s the edge that Test cricket has and needs. “There’s a big onus on the first 30 to 40 minutes.