The 5th rescheduled test was a highly anticipated event and it didn’t let people’s expectations down. The thriller ended with Ben Stokes led England winning the match and drawing the series. Although India was in a strong position till the beginning of Day 4, Johnny Bairstow and Joe Root easily chased down. Moreover, the Indian batters’ approach is being widely questioned. The results could’ve been different had they followed an attacking approach. Now, newly appointed test skipper Stokes made a statement that talks volumes about the new England Test setup. Ben Stokes said he wanted India to give a target of over 450. He believes this could’ve unleashed the team’s real potential.
Ben Stokes: “Wanted India to give 450-plus target, to see what we can do”
“It’s been the most fun five weeks I’ve had in my career so far. I don’t think everyone can understand what’s happened here. When you get given clarity in what you want to do and what you want to achieve and think about bigger than results, it makes everything a lot easier. It takes away the external pressure of what international sports can throw at you. When you know what you want to go out there and do, it makes everything a lot more simple.
We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is being played, in England especially. All the different plans that we put together over the last four or five weeks, for every different situation is something we’ll look to carry forward. It’s not always about bowling top of off or drying up, it’s how are we going to take wickets? That’s what you need to do as a bowling attack, take 10 wickets.
We know that we want to give new life to Test cricket, and the way that we go about it, and the support that we’ve received over the last five weeks has been incredible. It’s amazing, in such a short space of time, we feel like we are bringing a new set of fans to the game. Inspiring the next generation is what we want to do, this game at the moment is bigger than results for us, it’s about people who come in to represent England in the future, guys who come into the dressing room after. We want to leave a mark on Test cricket.”
Ben Stokes
