England’s last couple of tours to India saw them getting hammered 0-4 (in 2016-17) and 1-3 (in early 2021) in Tests. But that was in pre-Bazball days.
When Ben Stokes and his teammates visit India in January 2024, they will again be welcomed with rank turners in all probability as the World Test Championship points will also be up for grabs. However, Bazball will be making the contest a different ball game altogether, feels former England captain and opener Alastair Cook.
“Yeah, it will be a big challenge in India on turning wickets. Yet, I believe England will play in that aggressive way,” Cook said in a virtual interaction late on Monday evening, ahead of the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval, which will be broadcast on Sony Sports Ten 5 channels from Thursday.
The English batting group “won’t die wondering” on Indian tracks, Cook believes.
“The last time I went with the England team, as captain, we had lost the series 0-4 playing the traditional way. So in one way, there’s nothing to lose. It will be a great challenge against (Ravichandran) Ashwin, (Ravindra) Jadeja and Axar Patel on spin-friendly wickets. Absolutely. But the conventional way of playing hasn’t worked in the past.
“Again, it’s confrontational as they’re good enough to knock great bowlers off their length. They’ve certainly managed to do that to the seamers.
“Against the spinners, they did it well against Pakistan, though I know the quality (of the latter) is not quite the same (as that of India). Yet, winning 3-0 in Pakistan is a great achievement.
“It’s going to take great skill from the batting line-up to play that way, but one thing’s certain. They won’t die wondering,” Cook, who has five Test centuries in India, explained.
Stokes’ leadership
Although England couldn’t regain the Ashes with Australia taking an unbeatable 2-1 lead after the final day’s play in Manchester got washed out, Stokes’ captaincy does stand out for Cook. “I’ve been incredibly impressed with it,” Cook, who won two Ashes series as captain, stated.
“Since Ben took over, I think England have won 12 out of maybe 16 Tests. They have pushed the No.1 Test side very close and they can come out of this series 2-2.
“I have been surprised to see how good Ben has been tactically. There have been certain moments when he has been absolutely spot-on. In Pakistan, the way he captained on flat wickets to make his bowlers take 60 wickets and win 3-0 was outstanding. He did it the way he wanted to do it.”
