Moeen Ali was delighted to have the freedom to showcase his aggressive batting after starring for England on day two of the first Ashes Test against Australia.
Resuming on 343-7 in Cardiff, Moeen smashed an 88-ball 77 to help boost England's tally to 430 all out.
The spinner then contributed with the ball, snaring the crucial wickets of Steven Smith (33) and Australia captain Michael Clarke (38) to finish with figures of 2-67, as Australia reached stumps at 264-5 - still 166 runs adrift.
"Cooky [captain Alastair Cook] said for everyone to play the way they play. I felt I wanted to be aggressive, play my shots and entertain everyone," he told Sky Sports.
"You still have to get in, it's difficult to play shots straight away. When you've played a few balls, you go out and play your shots.
"I enjoy batting and taking on some of the fastest bowlers in the world."
Australia were nicely set at 145-2 at tea, but England took three wickets in the final session to leave the match finely balanced.
Moeen is now looking forward to the hosts getting stuck in with the new ball on Friday.
"We were happy with the start we had, and then taking five wickets," he added.
"A couple of wickets with the new ball and we're right in it."