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The recently concluded England tour of India 2024 lived up to its expectations, providing fans with a thrilling display of cricketing prowess. From the outset, the series carried a heightened sense of anticipation, reaching a crescendo as England secured victory in the opening game, momentarily pushing India onto the backfoot. However, the tides quickly turned, and India rebounded to claim the series 4-1, leaving England to grapple with questions about their approach.
Series assessment and the honest admission by Ben Stokes
Reflecting on the series in a post-match presentation after the final game in Dharamsala, skipper Ben Stokes offered an honest assessment, acknowledging that England had been outplayed by the superior team throughout the series. Despite the setbacks, Stokes highlighted the lessons learned and expressed excitement about driving the team forward in the upcoming challenges.
“Now that the series has come to an end – I don’t give too much away, obviously, whilst the series is going on – but since the first Test match of the series, we’re man enough and we’re big enough to say that we’ve been outplayed by the better team in the series,” Stokes candidly admitted.
The vision forward
Stokes also outlined the positive outlook for the future and stated that he looks ahead optimistically. He emphasized the importance of focusing on the learning and expressed eagerness to contribute to driving the team’s progress in the coming times with the upcoming challenges against Pakistan and New Zealand on the horizon.
“But we’ve got so much cricket coming up in our summer, and then Pakistan and New Zealand. Taking the positives that we’ve got from the series is something that I’m really looking forward to. I’m excited to be a part of driving this team even further forward,” Stokes highlighted.
Bazball ethos unshaken: Stokes blunt remark
Further in an interview with broadcaster TNT, Stokes reassured fans that the tour result had not dented England’s Bazball ethos as he emphasized, “We ain’t gonna let the last two years go to waste over this series in isolation.”
This statement underscores the team’s determination to stay true to their core values and continue evolving as a competitive force in international cricket.
Also READ: India captain Rohit Sharma responds to retirement talk after Test series win over England
Analyzing moments and relentlessness: Reason of defeat
Stokes even delved into the nuances of the series, pointing out small moments where England could have regained momentum but struggled to maintain it. He stressed the importance of understanding these critical moments and being more relentless in Test-match cricket.
The challenge against quality bowlers
Discussing India’s formidable bowling lineup, Stokes highlighted the need for a proactive approach. He praised India’s quality bowlers and their aggressive field placements. The all-rounder then advised that England needed to strategize ways to counter this, possibly by taking calculated risks to disrupt the field placements and regain control of the game.
Additionally, Stokes acknowledged the fine balance between risk and reward, urging the team to be positive and embrace calculated risks to unsettle the opposition.
“When you look at the game as a whole, and the series as a whole, there’s been really small moments throughout every Test match where we wrestled a bit of momentum back towards us, but we’ve not just been able to maintain and keep that going. And in Test-match cricket, especially out here where the game can turn really fast on you, it’s about understanding that and trying to understand those moments and being a bit more relentless with it. How that looks, I’m not sure, but we’re all here at the highest level playing cricket. I think we all know as individuals that that’s probably where it’s gone wrong for us, on more than one occasion,” Stokes explained.
“When India get on top, especially with the ball, you see a lot of men come around the bat, and when you’ve got the quality bowlers that they do – Ashwin, [Ravindra] Jadeja, Kuldeep – you’ve got to find ways of getting the guys around the bat out of there. Sometimes that comes with risk. Risk doesn’t always pay off, but you get a couple of sweeps away and then you find you’ve only got one man around the bat. You’ve just got to be positive enough to be able to take that risk, and know that sometimes it can be your downfall,” he added.
