Ben out to give India a taste of Bazball

BefoRe we were so rudely interrupted, India looked well on the way to defeating england in what had been an often bad- tempered Test series. But that was then and this is a very different now.

The sides resume at edgbaston today for the ‘ final’ Test, shoehorning a game that should have been played at old Trafford last year into a packed schedule, with India 2-1 up and both sides under new management.

Captains Virat Kohli and Joe Root are back in the ranks, coaches Ravi shastri and Chris silverwood have moved on, and england — whose team shows seven changes from the fourth Test last summer — have not only stopped the rot but come in on the crest of a giant wave.

Ben stokes missed those four Tests against India last year when he was taking a break from the game to protect his mental health. his promotion to the captaincy was therefore greeted cautiously, but how spectacularly he has banished any worries about the demands of the job.

along with Brendon McCullum, stokes has launched a revolution that could change the way all first-class cricket is played. even australia were playing Bazball in sri Lanka yesterday.

There was stokes again yesterday, defying conventional thinking when he said Zak Crawley still has his full support regardless of what happens here. and that he hadn’t brought himself on to bowl in the first innings against New Zealand at headingley last week because he wanted to make his attack ‘realise what they can do’.

Thinking out of the box does not come close to doing stokes’s

mindset justice. ‘We know we need to win this Test to draw the series from a year ago,’ said stokes (above). ‘But this is bigger than results. There’s more to it than that. What we’ve managed to do over the last three weeks is reshape Test cricket with the way we played.

‘We want people to enjoy watching us. I liken it to the one- day team in 2015, because spectators knew if they did watch us they would see something special.’ one thing that is familiar about england is Jimmy anderson and

stuart Broad taking the new ball, and the old firm are back together today with anderson back from the minor ankle injury that kept him out at Leeds.

That means Jamie overton misses out, despite a promising debut with ball and, mainly, bat.

‘Jamie gave the best account possible of himself and he’s someone we see as having a long and bright future with england,’ said

stokes. ‘There was a method as to why I didn’t bowl at Leeds. Broady wasn’t happy with me but I wanted to push the bowlers as much as I could to make them realise what they can do.

‘Bowling out the best Test team in the world with three seamers and a spinner has done everybody the world of good. I wasn’t going to mention that to anybody until the end of the Test but when Baz and Jon Lewis were saying, “are you going to bowl?” I had to say, “oK, this is why I’m doing it”.’

Then there is Crawley who, in normal circumstances, would be playing for his Test future. Not so, according to the captain.

‘The squad we picked before we’d played a Test was selected on the basis every player in every position is the best in england to carry us forward the way we want to,’ said stokes.

‘This team is going to be given a lot of time to perform. I sound like a broken record but I’m going to say it again — Zak has the backing of myself, Brendon and everybody in the team regardless of what happens this week.’

Ben foakes looked groggy in practice yesterday after Covid and sam Billings plays today, with england resisting the temptation to give the gloves back to Jonny Bairstow while he is in such superlative form at five.

India, who walked out of this series on the morning of that final Test when they prioritised the IPL, are led for the first time by Jasprit Bumrah, the bowler in the middle of the ill-tempered scenes at Lord’s last year. anderson was peppered while batting and england retaliated, to their cost, with Bumrah was at the crease.

That may have been in the same series but it seems a world away now. as england will be looking to show by continuing their ultra-positive approach in front of a full edgbaston today.