England skipper Ben Stokes was all appraise for his team at the post-match presentation for chasing down a record target of 378 against India in the fifth Test match at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
The hosts chased down the target within 77 overs scoring at almost five runs per over. This was their highest run chase in Test cricket history and the highest run chase by any team against India. The Three Lions have now also chased down targets of more than 250 on four consecutive occasions.
England chased targets of 277, 299, and 296 against New Zealand in the recently concluded Test series. The series also marked the captaincy debut of Ben Stokes who plans to revolutionise Test cricket in the country.
Speaking to Mark Butcher at the post-match presentation, Stokes said, “We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is being played in England. All our plans from the last four-five weeks is what we want to take ahead.
“We know that we want to get a new life to Test cricket and the support we have received has been fantastic in the short time we’ve been around. Inspiring the next generations is what we want to do. We want to bring in new fans and want to leave a mark on Test cricket”
Stokes also highlighted that while taking ten wickets is important, the orthodox techniques can be tweaked. “Bowling on the top of off isn’t important, at the end of the day, it is all about taking ten wickets.”
Stokes also showered praise on the batting unit that successfully chased down the mammoth target with the loss of just three wickets. Jonny Bairstow and the run-machine Joe Root stitched another century partnership in a fourth-innings run chase, as the duo also managed to reach their individual centuries.
“When the lads play like this, it makes my job easier. When you have clarity like we have in the dressing room, it makes chasing totals like this easier. 378 would have been scary five weeks ago, but now it’s all good,” Stokes added.
The openers also managed a partnership of 100 runs which set up the chase and gave a platform to the middle-order batters. “Jonny and Root will get all the credit, but the precedent was set up by the way the openers played against Bumrah and Shami with the new ball. It is all about taking wickets and taking ten wickets,” Stokes answered to Butcher.
England have announced themselves as a powerful Test Team with the change in leadership – Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum taking over. However, they do not have a chance to qualify for the final of the second cycle of the World Test Championship to be played in 2023. England currently stand seventh on the table with 33.33 percentage points.
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