Ben Stokes led from the entrance as England went on to register one in every of its most thrilling wins in opposition to India in latest occasions at Lord’s. As issues acquired robust and India tried its greatest to grab the initiative, Stokes extracted each bit from his team-mates and ensured the aspect put up a spirited present to safe an important lead in the five-match sequence.
Former England captain Allan Lamb believes that whereas England has slowly realised it’s essential to undertake the horses for programs method, as a substitute of moving into Bazball mode each time, it’s Stokes, who has instilled that belief and a optimistic mindset in the dressing room.
“When it comes to even chasing 180 on the last day, it is still a big thing in the mind, especially with India losing those wickets the night before. The pressure was always on India. Stokes had motivated the team. I think everything came down to Stokes, because the night before, he was so fired up. He wanted to bowl as he was fired up. And, he got his whole team behind him,” Lamb advised The Hindu.
“They are a team that believes they can win anything. That brought a real positive approach to it…”
Moving on from its Bazball method, whereby England would invariably ask the opposition to bat first after which chase down a goal, the team determined to bat first, and that proved essential. “Everyone thinks that England goes to play Bazball. But now, they’ve realized when the wicket just isn’t proper for the Bazball
method, they should get in. I don’t suppose it was an ideal wicket at Lord’s. It was the appropriate wicket to bat first. It was very troublesome to attain runs,” he mentioned.
And, England finally managed to win the Lord’s Test. While his captaincy has impressed Lamb, he needs to attend earlier than passing a judgment on whether or not Stokes is without doubt one of the most interesting skippers to have led England. “It’s a little bit early, but his approach is great,” he mentioned.
