England all-rounder Ben Stokes has insisted that he is prepared for an aggressive approach from Australia ahead of The Ashes.
Much of the focus has been on the war of words in the build-up to the first Test in Cardiff next week, and Stokes claims that he will not back down from confrontation out in the middle.
"In cricket, people like to get in a battle and there is more than one way of being in a battle than exchanging words with someone," he told BBC Sport.
"If people want to say something, then I am going to say something. If they don't, then I'm still going to try to make it feel like I am in a battle with the bowler.
"It is always about trying to win and just trying to make every single opportunity you can into a battle and make sure you don't lose."
Stokes clashed with Mitchell Johnson when the two sides met at the Adelaide Oval in 2013, with both players receiving fines from the International Cricket Council for bumping into each other on the pitch.
