England captain Ben Stokes says he stands by his decision to declare early in the first innings after a narrow two-wicket defeat against Australia in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday, June 20.

On the declaration, Stokes said at a post-match press conference: "I’ve seen that as an opportunity to pounce on Australia. No opening batsmen likes to go out for 20 mins. The way in which we played and took Australia on actually allowed us to do that.

"I could also turn it round and say if we didn’t declare, would we have got that excitement at the end of day five? I’m not 100 percent sure. I’m not going to be looking back on that game as “what ifs.”

Stokes added: "I am devastated we’ve lost that game. But I think in terms of what we’ve done for the series, the first game, it’s hard to not be too disappointed. It has set up a great series."

Asked if there's anything he would've done differently as captain today, Stokes replied: "No."

England captain Ben Stokes on Australia Ashes defeat in the first test

I’ve seen that as an opportunity to pounce on Aus. No opening batsmen likes to go out for 20 mins. The way in which we played and took Aus on actually allowed us to do that. I could also turn it round and say if we didn’t declare would we have got that excitement at the end of day five? I’m not 100 percent sure. I’m not going to be looking back on that game as “what ifs.”