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.
Bazball failure in India under Ben Stokes captaincy.
However all this talk of Bazball succession in India came to a stuttering halt at Rajkot as India powered by dazzling double century by Yashaswi 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.
Ben Stokes, England’s captain, has promised that his team will park the disappointment of their crushing 434-run loss in the third Test in Rajkot, and move onto Ranchi later this week fully focused on bouncing back to claim a 3-2 series victory. England need to win the last two Tests to clinch the series, with India leading the five-match series 2-1.
However much to the promise Ben Stokes and his team failed to deliver as India went on to win the Ranchi Test to take unassailable 3-1 lead over England heading into Dharamshala for the fifth and final test. This loss means that Ben Stokes and his team will now return from Indian shores empty handed . This series loss versus India especially in Ranchi with the stage of advantage on Day 2 has irked the likes of Former English commentator Geoffrey Boycott.
Ben Stokes made a big error by opening the bowling with two spinners- Sir Geoffrey Boycott
Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott questioned Ben Stokes’ move to open with two spinners in the fourth innings in Ranchi when they had only 192 to defend. Boycott reckons it was a ‘big error’ and suggested that Joe Root and Tom Hartley are not experienced enough to bowl with the new ball.
With the pitch playing tricks and favoring spin, Stokes decided to bring Tom Hartley and Joe Root as spinners. While the pair created some nervous moments for the Indian openers, they failed to strike early as Rohit Sharma and Yashaswi Jaiswal shaved off 40 runs from 8 overs on day 3.
“England only had 192 to defend. I like Stokes’s captaincy but I thought he made a big error by opening the bowling with two spinners, Root and Tom Hartley. The problem is that unless you are experienced at bowling spin with a new ball then the lacquer makes it slip out of the fingers so it is difficult to drop it on a length,”
“When I played, spinners could rub the ball in the dirt to rough it up and grip it better but that is banned now so it is hard for them to control. I think Stokes out-thought himself,”
“The young spinners had done pretty well but they were never going to out bowl India. Ours are not to blame. It is the batsmen. This was a match of mistakes and missed opportunities. England should be kicking themselves for losing. Winning the toss and batting first on a dry cracked result pitch and then making a total of 353 should have been a winner.”
Hartley and Bashir have arguably been the finds for England on the tour. The former took seven wickets in the fourth innings in Hyderabad to bowl the tourists to victory. Meanwhile, Bashir picked up 8 scalps in Ranchi, including a fifer in the first innings.
Boycott reckons James Anderson should have operated with the new ball, given how he bowls economically and has had Rohit Sharma’s number of late. He added:
“Jimmy Anderson is there for the new ball. He dismissed Rohit Sharma in the first innings. One thing about Anderson is that he doesn’t give any runs away. He is a mean bowler. He should have opened the bowling but really the game and series was lost by the batsmen.”
In fact, Anderson sent down only three overs in the fourth innings. Ben Stokes, England’s captain, has promised that his team will park the disappointment of their crushing 434-run loss in the third Test in Rajkot, and move onto Ranchi later this week fully focused on bouncing back to claim a 3-2 series victory. England need to win the last two Tests to clinch the series, with India leading the five-match series 2-1.
However much to the promise Ben Stokes and his team failed to deliver as India went on to win the Ranchi Test to take unassailable 3-1 lead over England heading into Dharamshala for the fifth and final test. This loss means that Ben Stokes and his team will now return from Indian shores empty handed .