Stokes says weather could make England even bolder in bid to level Ashes

Ben Stokes said Tuesday that forecast bad weather in Manchester could make England even more aggressive as they bid to keep their Ashes hopes alive with victory in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

England remained in contention to regain the urn from arch-rivals Australia with a three-wicket win at Headingley that left the hosts 2-1 down with two to play ahead of the concluding two Tests at Old Trafford and The Oval.

Since England captain Stokes joined forces with coach Brendon McCullum last year, the team have become renowned for their bold 'Bazball' approach to red-ball cricket.

But with heavy rain forecast on the fourth and fifth days in Manchester, England may have to up their tempo while trying to force a win in a match starting Wednesday.

"You never want to look too much into the weather, but in the position we find ourselves in, we find we might have to," Stokes told an Old Trafford news conference on Tuesday.

"We know we have to win this game to take it to the last game for us to have a chance of getting the urn back.

"Going into the last game 2-0 down, we knew we had to win that, so I think that helped us a little bit. Maybe again, with the weather that's predicted, it might bring more out of us again, knowing that we might have to push the game on even more than we normally do.

"We'll just have to wait and see. If the weather is what it's predicted to be, we might have to."

England are bidding to become only the second side in history to win an Ashes from 2-0 down, following the Australia team of 1936/37 that, inspired by batting great Don Bradman, overturned such a deficit to triumph 3-2.

The current series had drawn comparisons with England's celebrated 2-1 victory over Australia in 2005, and all-rounder Stokes, asked