Former India captain Virat Kohli
England’s adventurous brand of Test cricket under Ben Stokes’s captaincy and head coach Brendon McCullum’s stewardship yielded one of the best moments on the field for the Three Lions on Monday as they beat Pakistan by 74 runs on a lifeless pitch after an exciting declaration kept both team’s in the game till the end. England’s batters might have made merry on the placid track but to bowl a talented Pakistan batting line-up out twice over on a dead pitch was surely an achievement.
Since that win several former England captains and cricketers have hailed the team for their new brand of Test cricket and also called Stokes’ captaincy one of the finest they have seen in the longest format for a while.
A lot of chatter now is on whether other team’s will follow England’s brand of aggressive Test cricket or not.
Former England coach and a respected voice in cricket, David Lloyd, has written in his column in the The Daily Mail that India have all the tools to follow suit but the “stats driven” mindset of Indian batters could be a problem.
“It is not totally new, of course. The Australia team of the 90s were very positive and the great West Indian sides were full of exhilarating stroke-makers.
“I reckon a team capable of this style now is India. They have all the tools. There has been a suspicion that Indian batters are stats driven but Virat Kohli is one who could drive this,” Lloyd wrote.
He hailed England’s attitude and for walking the talk in terms of making Test cricket more exciting.
“Test cricket has to keep moving in this positive direction to keep pace with the white-ball game.
“That’s what England are doing in the most exciting way imaginable. What a statement Stokes has made in saying ‘I’m not interested in draws.’
“And this win shows he means it. Even on a pitch like that! The fascinating thing now is how quickly other teams follow suit?,” he added.
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