ENG vs IND: Ben Stokes looks to inspire next generation of Test cricket

• Stokes anticipates a bright future for England in Test cricket.
• England defeated India by 7 wickets.
• They will play the home Test series against the Proteas from August 11.

Ben Stokes anticipates that England’s innovative approach to batting fourth in Tests will create fear in their opponents after they earned a thrilling victory over India with their highest-ever run chase.

The England captain won the toss and opted to bowl first against India, knowing that his team had successfully chased down fourth-innings scores of 299, 296 and 277 in three Tests against New Zealand in the previous month.

Joe Root (142*) and Jonny Bairstow (114*) propelled England to victory with an unbroken 269-run stand in the rescheduled Test at Edgbaston after India had set a goal of 378. England achieved this mark with the loss of only three wickets.

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“Look at how teams will be viewing us at the moment, that third innings now has become a fourth innings, because they have to concentrate on how we’re going to play, and they’re worried about that,” Stokes said.

“So to be in that position as a team, being feared before they’ve even finished their innings is an unbelievable place to be in.

“Teams don’t know how to play the third innings, especially when they’ve got a lead.”

England has chased down intimidating objectives in all four Tests since Stokes replaced Root as captain.

Under Root’s leadership, England won just one of 17 Tests and finished last in the ICC World Test Championship.

Four consecutive victories have lifted England to eighth as a rejuvenated group reignites summer interest.

“We are trying to rewrite how Test cricket is being played, in England especially,” Stokes said.

“All the different plans that we put together over the last four or five weeks, for every different situation is something we’ll look to carry forward.

“It’s not always about bowling top of off or drying up, it’s how are we going to take wickets? That’s what you need to do as a bowling attack, take 10 wickets.”

England will play three Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals against India and South Africa at home.

In a three-Test series against South Africa that begins on August 17 at Lord’s, they will want to continue their menacing white-ball form and potentially their fourth-innings heroics.

“We know that we want to give new life to Test cricket, and the way that we go about it, and the support that we’ve received over the last five weeks has been incredible,” Ben Stokes said.

“It’s amazing, in such a short space of time, we feel like we are bringing a new set of fans to the game.

“Inspiring the next generation is what we want to do, this game at the moment is bigger than results for us, it’s about people who come in to represent England in the future, guys who come into the dressing room after. We want to leave a mark on Test cricket.”

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