England cricket team has had a topsy-turvy ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle. The duo of Brendon McCullum & Ben Stokes failed to succeed in India & Pakistan test tours where they lost 4-1 to India & 2-1 to Pakistan. The recent Test triumph against New Zealand by 3-0 has again gotten head coach Brendon McCullum recognition.
Legendary cricketer Sir Geoffrey Boycott even termed England test team as flat track bullies. England under the leadership of Ben Stokes has tried their best to revolutionize Test cricket but ICC WTC 2023-25 standings state something else. England is at 6th position with having played 22 matches and lost 10 out of them which doesn’t sound great ahead.
Greg Chappell expects Brendon McCullum & Ben Stokes to be a force to reckon with
Greg Chappell wrote in his column for Sydney Morning Herald. Greg Chappell pointed out that Brendon McCullum & Ben Stokes can dominate Test cricket for a generation. Greg Chappell was quite stunned with the rapid rise of Harry Brook and stated that a future of England team can be built around him.
“England, under the bold and transformative leadership of Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, are not just rebuilding, they are surging ahead with a team that looks equipped to dominate for a generation,” said Greg Chappell.
“Brook’s ability to combine aggression with consistency makes him a nightmare for bowlers because, much like Tendulkar, he’s incredibly hard to contain. For England, he’s not just a bright prospect, he’s a player around whom their future could be built,” he added.
Steep Road ahead for England
England haven’t won Ashes in Australia since 2010-11 where they had got back the ‘urn’ by 3-1 under the leadership of the then captain Andrew Strauss. In 2013-14 they got whitewashed, 2017-18 & 2021-22 they had lost the series by 4-0 on both occasions. In the recently concluded BGT 2024-25 series, we had witnessed how India had won 1st Test match against Aussies is to frustrate them and not give them chances.
The onus will be on Joe Root to lead the batting line up. It’s quite astonishing that the former England captain hasn’t smashed a ton in Australia and now this would be his 4th tour down under. Ashes is often considered to be the oldest rivalry in the history of World cricket. The previous Ashes series was squared by 2-2 but Aussies had retained the urn.
Before Ashes 2025-26, England is going to play a bumper 5 Test match series against India in England in June 2025. It would be quite interesting to see how Brendon McCullum & managing director Rob Key manage the workload of the speedster Jofra Archer as before India Tests, he will also take part in IPL 2025 for Rajasthan Royals (RR).