England couldn’t get the result they wanted from the fourth Test, but they did prove something to any remaining doubters. They fell 2-0 behind in a five-game series against the best team in the world and didn’t blink. They stuck to their task and to their philosophy, turned things around, and would surely have levelled the series had rain not intervened in Manchester.
Ben Stokes says his primary focus is not on results, and we should not let them distract us from his achievements. Whatever happens in the final game and whether England lose the series or draw it, they have proved something over the past six weeks.
I saw the World Test Championship final between Australia and India at the Oval at the start of the summer and Australia were so good. They won the trophy, and they did look like the best team in the world. They had batters who like to make big scores, fast bowlers who hit the pitch hard, and – in Nathan Lyon – a world-class spinner. England did not let them dominate the first two games, but such was Australia’s skill and the balance of the side they won them all the same. After the second Test at Lord’s Ben Stokes was quite bullish: he said England would benefit from knowing exactly what they have to do – even if their task was to beat the best side in the world three times in a row. A few people would have chuckled at the idea, but they have showed fantastic character, skill and togetherness to really stick at it.
Of course Lyon’s injury changed the dynamic of the Australia side, and the arrival of Mark Wood changed the dynamic of England’s. The resulting shift has been emphatic, and I came away from Old Trafford really upbeat about an England side that absolutely bullied the Australians. With no choice but to go for the win they had to be ambitious, but it is one thing wanting to do something and another thing to achieve it. Australia might argue they picked a team full of all-rounders in the knowledge that the forecast was bad and with an eye on drawing the game. But I think what everyone wanted to see from this series is whether England could continue this style of play against the best in the world, and we don’t need to wait for it to end to say they have absolutely answered that question. I think every one of the people paid to observe the game and talk about it in the media – including myself – had doubts about their ability to do so, and they have been put in their place.
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What has pleased me is that England haven’t just been gung-ho – they have been aggressive but smart. They are learning and improving their methods. Before the series I might have described the team’s approach as “one-size-fits-all crash bang wallop”, and I don’t think any team is going to achieve No 1 Test status that way. The longest form of the game demands nuance, skill and strategy. But it is now clear that while still absolutely going for it, if they scent a chance to exploit a moment of weakness in the opposition, they can also pull back if that is a more sensible option.
At Old Trafford Moeen Ali, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes all produced mature innings: England wanted to bat once, recognised the surface would deteriorate and tailored their batting to the occasion and the match situation. Zak Crawley’s success, when he rode his luck a bit but showed great skill and shot-making ability to score a superb 189, allowed those other batters to change their approach, and then their success allowed Jonny Bairstow to come in later and score 99 off 81 balls. This flexibility has not always been evident since Brendon McCullum took over as coach, and I am really enthused by the way England have improved not just their performance levels but their mentality across the series.
After the fourth Test was abandoned, Stokes was obviously quite emotional. Of course he should be – this series means so much, and he had just lost his chance to win it – but in a way I found his reaction reassuring. I remember watching England in Pakistan over the winter, at a moment when the home side were batting impressively, and some of the fielders were laughing and joking. There has been so much talk since Stokes and McCullum took over about taking pressure off players and getting them to play without fear, and there have been moments when I worried this message had been interpreted as: it’s just a game, it doesn’t really matter. But that fear has been dispelled: Stokes’s disappointment at not winning back the urn, the pride and the passion he has, was obvious on Sunday, and his team’s commitment has been clear on the field of play.
The weekend rain robbed the cricketing public of an incredible finish to a fantastic series. As the hours passed and the drizzle continued there was a growing feeling of desolation at being denied the fifth-Test climax the players earned and deserved. But this England team still has so much to be proud of. Almost all the players in the group have produced outstanding individual performances across the series. I noted Stokes’s comment, and it is not the first time he had said it, about legacy: he wants people to remember this team and how they played, and he is on course to achieve it.
It also made me remember that one of the great motivational drivers is to feel you are fighting for a cause bigger than yourself, which removes anxiety over individual performances and gives a connection between team members. Stokes is driving this conviction and has a group of players who have bought into it. At 2-0 down England’s belief – in themselves individually, in their teammates, in the cause that unites them, in the methods they have adopted – was tested under the greatest pressure, in the most public way possible, by the best team in the world, and they rose to the occasion. Whatever the final scoreline in the series, it is some achievement.
