England are pumping themselves up for an assault on the Ashes even though they failed to close out a series victory over India with coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes earning comparisons to Pablo Picasso for their revolution of Test cricket in the country.
After a Test match – and series – for the ages against India, Stokes firmly believes his side are battle hardened after a chaotic defeat at The Oval on Monday as they try to win back the Ashes after more than a decade of Australian dominance.
McCullum was also in a confident mood despite the loss in the Fifth Test meaning a 3-1 series victory became a 2-2 tie.
“We’ll be able to pick out what has gone well then start to work out how we can keep improving, so when we do arrive out in Australia we give ourselves a huge chance,” he said.
In The Guardian, cricket analyst Gary Naylor awarded Stokes an A for his efforts over the course of the series and claimed the cliffhanger series was “the product of how Baz McCullum and Ben Stokes have reinvented English Test cricket, a change comparable to Pablo Picasso’s and Georges Braque’s revolution of European art a century ago”.
“The upside is good for England, good for the game and good for the fans.”
Former England captain Mike Atherton, writing for The Times, did not display such hyperbole and wisely cautioned that the team needed to improve dramatically to be any hope against Pat Cummins’ side.
“Amazingly, the past four series at home against India and Australia have all ended drawn. England have not been far away,” he wrote.
“When it mattered, though, they were just not quite good enough. Having stalked victory on the fourth afternoon at the Oval, they froze a little in sight of the winning line. They dropped vital catches at Old Trafford and the Oval.
“The bowling, in very tough conditions throughout, was not exceptional enough. They will double down on personnel for Australia, as they should. It is too late to change course now.”
Former England opener David Lloyd wrote in The Daily Mail that he believes young spinner Rehan Ahmed, who was not selected in the series, should be recalled to give England a left-field option to upset the Aussie batters.
Another blast from the past, Geoff Boycott, claimed Harry Brook had the potential to end up an all-time great based on the promising start to his Test career.
Harry Brook. (Photo by Mark Fletcher | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Players like him do not come along too often and he could end up in the same bracket as Wally Hammond and Denis Compton, who are regarded by everybody who saw them as among England’s greatest,” he wrote in The Telegraph.
“I don’t think he will be able to tonk Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood quite so easily. He will have a chance against Mitchell Starc because he bowls magic deliveries but also gives you a lot of four balls.
“I just hope Harry is going to be intelligent enough not to change his game, but just assess the situation and be a bit more careful. That is all he has to do. There will be times when Australia are bowling well and trying to butcher them will not be the smartest thing to do.
“If he comes running down the pitch at people like Hazlewood and Cummins then he will be asking for trouble but if he assesses the situation, he can be successful in Australia.”
