Horror show. Nightmare. Shame epic. Their misery was over as India cruised to a 3-1 series score.
There’s the verdict of cricket commentators Negative England’s current 3-1 Test series defeat against India was sealed with a fine chase on day four in Ranchi. But instead the decision was made the last time England’s Test team went to India, winning the first Test and losing the next three on some slippery pitches. Despite England having won their previous four series under Joe Root at this point, the world looked set to burn in March 2021.
Relating to: Ben Stokes ‘incredibly proud’ of team despite England’s series defeat in India
Three years later we essentially have the same result. And, of course, it will be tempting to compare the softer, more realistic verdict of England’s defeat to the same series scoreline (with one still to be played).
There will be bubble talk about the cult-like aspects of Stokes Supremacy, particularly among bemused followers of other Test nations, that England’s attacking style is bringing new levels of excellence from their opponents – it’s free for the service – and the sense that no-one here actually loses a match of cricket is that this is just the overarching the feeling of being part of the universal energy.
There is also arguably a new ruling that, for reasons unclear, you cannot enjoy the positives of England’s aggressive cricket and at the same time find things to improve in defeat. It is not clear why this should be the case. But that’s what people say. So this must be true.
Of course, that’s part of the fun of the England Test team. Has there ever been a more strangely polarizing tactical approach to this complex and seedy old sport?
Most cases of extreme devotion have to do with strength of personality. People love Ben Stokes, a great player who is charismatic, smart and also kind in an arena where that is not always a major part of the leadership culture.
Other countries, by contrast, will continue to find the latest incarnation of British exceptionalism reliably infuriating. We are England. And we are here to save Test cricket. In the meantime, even if we lose, we will fill this void, we will dominate this conversation, we will make you say the word Bazball more than you want.
Hence the outrage on Indian cricket social media AKA Cry More Twitter, gushing over Stokes’ captaincy despite Rohit Sharma taking his team to a 3-1 series lead with a depleted team. At the end of the match on the fourth day, there were warm reactions to Stokes’ post-match comments.
These included praising the young spin bowlers (understandably they played well); on the third day, talking about the difficult conditions in India (understandably it was difficult); and talked about how the series also makes the most of India’s young talent. Again, this is probably true, but Ben Duckett has already weirded out the pitch at this point with his Bazball chat we taught the world after the third Test.
Amid all this, lost in the mists of post-truth Baz-chat, as England suffer their first series defeat against the Stokes regime, it is easy to overlook two questions worth asking. The first is the usual: Is this team still getting better and does it need any fine-tuning?
England remain eighth in the World Test championship table and will sit fifth with 19 points due to their slow rate. Stokes ultras will account for much of the team’s excellent overall win percentage, but that number also requires context. Teams outside the Big Three are now priced out of red-ball cricket. Zimbabwe used to be really good. Britain should really expect to sweep the fish of the new world order.
Despite all this, the current series has been a real step forward from 2021’s debacle. England had faded away in the previous three defeats. Here they won enough sessions and moments to make even a 400-run defeat somehow feel like a good 400-run defeat. At Ranchi, they lost mainly because of the period in which they lost seven for 35 on the third day and then saw India race to 40-0 in the fourth innings.
Both sides had chances to make it 2-2. Maybe Jimmy Anderson could open the bowling in front of an off-spinner with no fresh red-ball experience at this level. But yes. I can’t enjoy X. Then I still criticize Y. This is the situation now.
As for the actual components of the team, the batting below the openers looks a bit vague. During the base period, England dropped only one batsman, Alex Lees, in keeping with the overall aim of creating confidence and ultra-good vibes. Maybe something has also changed in the way batsmen are tried and detained. The top six look geared towards generating performance rather than maintaining averages.
Ollie Pope averaged 16 points last year apart from two great strikes against Ireland and India, the last of which was a sensational counter-kick match winner. Jonny Bairstow averaged 30 in that period, but he was also seen as the match-winner, the second man, the spirit animal.
This is probably necessary. There is little time to develop his red-ball defensive game, which was previously seen as a platform for his Test career. Current substitute Dan Lawrence has played for four teams in three white-ball formats in the last six months in the Vipers, Stars, Gladiators and Spirit. It would be crazy to expect him to step in now and play like Bill Athey.
The bowling remains a mix of increasing antics and old seamers in Ollie Robinson’s late career, from the 74mph no-ball at Ranchi to his final Test wicket in the slow-bouncing barrage at Lord’s in June. Matthew Potts certainly deserves a return, but Robinson won’t be the first red-ball specialist to struggle with a lack of cricket as Tests have been pushed to the sidelines of the calendar.
This brings us to the second question worth asking about the England team. Does it deliver on its core mission statement: securing its own future, making Test cricket a bit more of a product people desire?
This was the key to the gloom three years ago. Phrases like “extreme burnout” were floating around. Everyone looked exhausted and unhappy, the whole event overshadowed by decay.
Stokes’ reboot was designed as a response to this existential problem of turning Test cricket into something people want to play and watch. If the real question is: is this thing still good for Test cricket, then the answer must be yes, even in defeat.
Given that the entire Stokes era has essentially been a response to the 2021 end-of-days feeling, anything that makes a Test tour of India an event for players and home crowds alike has to be good. In this case, when we lower Bazball’s mental filters once again, England still win.