by Horror show. Nightmare. The saga of shame. Add to their misery, and India romped to score 3-1 series.
The verdict, then, of the cricket commentary no on the current Test series 3-1 England defeat by India, sealed with a fine fourth day held in pursuit of Ranchi. But the verdict instead of the last time the England Test team went to India, won the first Test, then lost the next three on some skiddy pitches. At that point, despite England winning their previous four series under Joe Root, back in March 2021 life seemed to be on the up.
Related: Ben Stokes ‘extremely proud’ of the team despite England losing the series in India
Three years later we have essentially the same result. And of course it will be tempting to contrast it with the softer and more obscure decision of an England win by the same league score (with one to play).
The cultural aspects of Stokes’ dominance will be mentioned, especially among baffled fans of other Test nations, the bubble talk of England’s attacking style bringing new levels of excellence out of their opponents – for this service, at no charge. – and the realization that no one around here will miss a cricket match, that this is just part of the all-encompassing, all-encompassing energy.
In addition there remains the new unchallenged dictum that you cannot, for reasons that are not clear, enjoy the positive parts of England’s attacking cricket, and also find things to improve in victory. It is not clear why this should be so. But it is what people say. So it must be true.
Of course, this is all part of the fun of the England Test team. Has there ever been a more curiously polarized tactical approach to this complex old sport?
Much of the devotional material is about the power of personality. People love Ben Stokes, a great player who also happens to be energetic, intelligent and kind, in a field where this is not always a necessary part of the culture of leadership.
In contrast, other countries will continue to reliably challenge the latest incarnation of English exceptionalism. We are England. And we are here to save Test cricket. Meanwhile, and even in defeat, we will fill this space, a great influence on the conversation, make you say the word Bazball much more than you want.
Hence the humor on the Indian cricket social media, AKA Cry More Twitter, over the gushing in Stokes’ captaincy even when Rohit Sharma led his team in the series 3-1 with a reduced team. At the end of play on the fourth day there was already a warm response to Stokes’ post-match comments.
These were meant to praise his young bowlers (they played well, understandably); citing the tough Indian conditions on the third day (understandably, they were tough); and talking about how the series brought out the best of young Indian talent. Again this is probably true, but Ben Duckett has already queered to the field at this point with his tutorial we-the-world-Bazball conversation after the third Test.
In the midst of that, lost in the fog of the post-truth Baz-chat, it is easy to lose sight of the two questions even to ask and England to taste their first series defeat of the Stokes regime. The first is the usual one: is this team still getting better, and are there any tweaks needed?
England remain eighth in the World Test championship table, and would have been fifth even with the 19 points docked for slow rates. Stokes’ ultras will make up a large part of the team’s overall winning percentage, but this number also requires context. Teams outside the Big Three are now priced out of red ball cricket. Zimbabwe used to be really good. England should really expect to be the sycophants of the new world order.
For all that, the current series from 2021 onwards is a step forward. Here they have winning sessions and moments, enough to make even a 400-run defeat feel, somehow, like a good 400-run defeat. They lost in Ranchi mainly because of the period on the third day when they lost seven for 35 then saw India race to 40-0 in the fourth innings.
There was a good chance to take this to 2-2. Perhaps Jimmy Anderson could have opened the bowling ahead of a player who had no experience of the new red ball at this level. But yes. I can not enjoy X. Then still criticize Y. This is the thing now.
As for the actual components of the team, the batting feels a little fuzzy under the openers. England in the era Baz never dropped only one batter, Alex Lees, consistent with the overall aim of generating confidence and ultra-good vibes. Perhaps there has also been a change in the way bakers are judged and retained. The top six seem focused on producing performances rather than maintaining media.
Ollie Pope has averaged 16 over the past year outside of two big games against Ireland and India, the latter a resounding winner. Jonny Bairstow averages 30 in that time but is also seen as a match winner, a man of moments, a spirit animal.
This is probably necessary. There isn’t too much time available to develop the kind of red-ball defensive game that has previously been seen as a platform for a Test career. Dan Lawrence, the current reserve, has played for the Vipers, the Stars, the Gladiators and the Spirit in the past six months, four franchises across three white ball formats. Don’t expect him to come in now and play like Bill Athey.
The bowling has been a mix of old-timers and the growing oddity of Ollie Robinson’s recent career, from 74mph no-balls in Ranchi to the final Test highlight in the slow-bouncer barrage at Lord’s in June. Matthew Potts certainly deserves a turn, although Robinson is not the first red-ball specialist to struggle with the lack of cricket as Tests are pushed to the fringes of the calendar.
This brings us to the second question worth asking about this England team. Is he fulfilling the original mission statement of securing his own future, of making Test cricket a slightly more desirable product?
This was central to the gloom three years ago. Phrases like “real break out” were bandied about. Everyone looked drained and unhappy, the whole event was overshadowed by decay.
Stokes’ reboot was intended as an answer to this factual issue of making Test cricket something people wanted 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 Stokes’ entire tenure is essentially the answer to that end-of-2021 feeling, anything that makes a Test tour of India an event for both players and the home crowd must be good. On that score, as we descend again on the Bazball mind filters, England are still winning.
