Ben Stokes was jubilant after England’s magnificent Test win in a low-scoring affair at Lord’s against New Zealand to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. However, the newly appointed England skipper didn’t lose a sense of pragmatism in the moment, calling it only the beginning a “long road”.
The 31-year-old recognised his task being an England skipper of reviving a Test team that went through a phase of 17 previous Tests with a solitary win is certainly “not an overnight thing”. At the same time, he said a lot of what the three lions did at Lord’s is “what me and Brendon are trying to work towards.”
The premier allrounder seems to have bought into the ideas which new head coach Brendon McCullum is hoping to implement going forward and get the Stokes led side to play a competitive and attractive brand of Test cricket.
One of McCullum’s ideas for the Lord’s win was to send out a pinch-hitter in Stuart Broad at No.8 ahead of the more sedate lower-order batter Matthew Potts on the evening of Day 3 in case England lost No.7 wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes early with the hosts chasing 277.
“When Foakesy went out to bat, he (McCullum) was going to send Broady in if we lost the wicket to go and have a slog, just to score 30, 40 runs, game’s done. That’s the kind of stuff that we’re not used to in the dressing room. Those kinds of things filtering around will do us the world of good.”
“The confidence and the energy that he brings about, his mindset towards the game, he’s just going to make everybody feel 10-foot tall in any situation that we’re in and I’ve really enjoyed working with him so far this week,”
Stokes was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
What would’ve kept Stokes grounded is the fact that even within this victory, England had their similar batting issues persisting. The hosts were bundled out for 141 on Day 2 after the bowlers had done a marvellous job of keeping New Zealand down to 132.
They also found themselves a precarious four down for 76 in a tricky chase against one of the better attacks in the world before Joe Root’s 26th Test century, supported by Stokes’ own half-century and Foakes’ critical 32*, propelled them through.
Having overtaken captaincy from Root, Stokes heaped effusive praise on his predecessor and longstanding friend after his match-winning knock, which also culminated with him reaching the 10,000 Test run mark. The skipper, however, singled out Foakes as more of a positive for the Test team going deeper into a challenging summer.
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Stokes said Foakes’ stay in the middle late on Day 3 as well as early on Day 4 inspired a sense of solidity about England’s batting, which has often lacked that stability. Replacing Jos Buttler into the side, Foakes put forth another fine example of his capabilities behind and in front of the stumps.
“Batting at seven, which he does for England, is different to the role that he plays for Surrey because he bats higher up, but going in last night for 45 minutes was a very, very big part in the game and he handled it very well.
And him walking off there not out with Joe at the end no doubt will give him a lot of confidence going into the rest of the summer,”
Stokes said of his wicketkeeper-batter.
The second Test of the series will be played in Trent Bridge from June 10.
