England under the charismatic leadership of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum landed in India for the first series in the New Year of 2024 on Indian soil. A dream which England saw under the leadership of Ben Stokes and the management when the test series started on 25th January 2024 was to win a series in India which was their final frontier since 2012, the last time they won the series in the subcontinent and buoyed by the recent success in Pakistan, the English team was confident of it under similar conditions.
England under Ben Stokes started the series with a bang eclipsing Rohit Sharma and his team in the first test at Hyderabad by 28 runs thanks to the magnificent innings by middle order batter Ollie Pope(196) and a 7 wicket haul by debutant spinner Tom Hartley to go 1-0 up in a 5 match series and giving serious concerns to India who without their main players started wondering how to stage a comeback.
However India bounced back to winning ways against England, sealing a 106-run victory on Day 4 of the second Test match in Vizag in the second test match . The win saw the hosts level the series 1-1 as the visitors wrapped up for 292 in their 399-run chase. With England continuing with their Bazball approach towards the target, it was evident that it was a matter of time that English batters would hand the Indian’s their wickets. With most were taken by disciplined bowling by India some wickets like skipper Ben Stokes and Joe Root’s became the talking and meme material.
With the test series tied at 1-1 and a 10 day gap between the third test at Rajkot, England under Ben Stokes decided to go to Abu Dhabi for some holidays and having a hand on the golf course but was confident that their team with a Bazball technique approach could stage a lead at Rajkot.
England’s recent success under talismanic captainship of Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes aggressive approach to captaincy may have failed to claim victory in a hard-fought second Test but the five-match series against India is still wide open at 1-1. Much of England’s success has been attributed to Bazball – the desire to score quickly and tactically rattle the opposition – but this is a misnomer. What Ben Stokes has really done is set out to achieve victory from ball one by playing aggressive cricket in all aspects of the game.
Ben Stokes has been extremely smart to adopt such an approach and his aggressive tactics have brought England great success in the win column. It’s an approach that England were extremely slow to adopt but Stokes has shown himself to be a strong-minded and smart leader.
The England team has great belief in Ben Stokes and it shows both on and off the field. The team takes wickets because they are continually looking for them, and this challenge is accepted by the bowlers. One of the great benefits of this strategy is that it enthuses the best players, and they are the ones most likely to affect the final result.
The team also believe that Ben Stokes’ aggression will help them claim the odd unexpected success. This belief is what generally leads to a team producing something extra that leads to a vital wicket. Stokes’ brilliance in the field helped him produce a run-out at a crucial time in Hyderabad – and it also helped increase team belief.
Ben Stokes’ attitude has helped the younger players believe in themselves, and this is showing in their bowling performances. The success of young players Tom Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir is no fluke; it epitomizes the confidence instilled by Stokes’ approach. Hartley’s success with both bat and ball should make the limited Jack Leach redundant in the Test side. One of England’s weaknesses has been their spin department, but Stokes’ positive approach suddenly means that slow bowling has a number of candidates.
The success of Ollie Pope at No. 3 and the ascent of Harry Brook as a vital middle-order player also means the batting is potentially much stronger. These marked improvements in talent should ensure that in future England pick their strongest available team for the prevailing conditions. England have erred in the past by not picking their best wicketkeeper and by often shunning the value of extra pace. Injuries to fast bowlers aside, this should be a thing of the past.
It will help England enormously if Stokes is once again able to function as an allrounder, as his bowling is a distinct weapon. It would also help if he fielded in the slips, especially to the spinners, as he is one of the best in that position. The other area where England could improve is in their use of the bouncer. It’s often an overused ploy, and it must be remembered that the biggest advantage of the bouncer is the element of surprise.
One personal area Stokes could look at is his own batting. If he were more proactive at the start of each innings, it would improve his play. Stokes is a very good batter but he’s at his best when he’s looking to score. With all such qualities from skipper Ben Stokes certainly raises hopes for England’s comeback in the remainder of the test series versus India.
However all this talk of Bazball succession in India came to a stuttering halt at Rajkot as India powered by dazzling double century by Yashasvi Jaiswal and an effective all round show by local boy Ravindra Jadeja which included a century and a fifer inflicted a 434 runs defeat on Ben Stokes led Bazball inspired English side .This defeat the second highest in terms of runs for England and a 2-1 lead for India has now pushed Ben Stokes to the back mentally who will now seriously think about the aspect of his bowling too in the further 2 test matches.
Nothing changed in Ranchi as the Ben Stokes led team who promised to comeback after the 434 run drubbing at Rajkot in the 3rd test surrendered to the prowess of young Indian wicket keeper batter Dhruv Jurel to lose the 4th test match and the series 3-1 to India thus keeping their dream to conquer Indian fortress since 2012 incomplete.
However ahead of the 5th and final test match at the picturesque Dharamshala, the English skipper is confident of his team giving a final goodbye to Indian shores on the winning note and is vocal about it calling the pitch at Dharamshala an absolute belter to bat on.
I think going with two seamers and two spinners is probably the right call- Ben Stokes
England skipper Ben Stokes has opined that the pitch for the fifth and the final test in Dharamshala is a “belter”. The 32-year old believes that playing 2 spinners and 2 pacers on this surface would be the right call. The tourists have made one change in their playing 11 to be played on Thursday. They have replaced Ollie Robinson who underperformed in the Ranchi Test with Mark Wood.
Speaking at the pre match press conference Ben Stokes who expected some grass on the wicket initially stated that it looked excellent.
“Before we even got here, we were probably thinking it was going to be a three seamer one spinner attack but then when we saw the wicket and then saw it again today, I think going with two seamers and two spinners is probably the right call. We felt there would probably a bit more grass on the wicket just because of where we are but overall the wicket looks an absolute belter,”
Mark Wood has played First test in Hyderabad and the third test in Rajkot. He took only four wickets which came in the first innings at Rajkot in this series . Shoaib Bashir meanwhile finished with eight wickets at Ranchi.
A 3-2 series result would be better than 3-1 or 4-1 exclaims Ben Stokes
Stokes further said that things have not gone through their way in this series but the England team is determined to end the series on the high with a win and a 3-2 margin grabbing some important WTC points while on its way. The seam bowling all rounder added :
“At 3-1, you think it’s not been a success but I look at it with completely different angles to that and I think we’ve definitely progressed as a team even though we haven’t got the results we wanted. You know, 3-2 sounds better than 3-1 or 4-1 and that’s obviously what we’re looking to do,”
England under Ben Stokes will walk into the ground on 7th March with the aim of clinching crucial World Test Championship points. England currently sit 8th in the points table with 3 wins and 5 losses to their name.