Stokes urges England focus: ‘We want to win this week’،
For the first time under the captaincy of Ben Stokes, England will play for pride in a Test match.
India hold the spoils, and England only have the carrot of leaving with a 3-2 scoreline by becoming the first team since 2012 to win two matches in a series against the hosts. Although this is mainly because not all testing nations have five tests in these regions. Even Australia only received four this time last year.
The fact that Dharamsala is hosting this fifth and final Test adds additional context of setting and, for some, divinity. A number of people on the tour will meet the Dalai Lama on Wednesday morning. At this stage, it is unlikely that England's own spiritual leader will be among them.
The series may be over, but Stokes' focus remains on this final leg of this tour. “Well, it's like every time we play,” he said when asked what was at stake, apart from a few points from the World Test Championship. “We want to win this week.”
Complacency is not an option, especially considering this team needs to take it to the next level. The missed chances against Australia last summer stung, and similar missed chances in India speak to the need for a talented group to start handling these pressure situations more effectively.
“It’s not about mind or mentality,” Stokes said matter-of-factly. “All you can do is work your hardest and try to bowl in the nets because that’s where you improve.”
It was in the nets on Tuesday morning that England almost froze these proverbials. Most of the team trained in beanies, which were brought in during the break between the second and third Tests, along with a few long-sleeved cream jumpers. Cooler temperatures and even rain predicted from day one make this match an entirely different proposition.
England are enjoying choosing a three-pronged seam attack for the first time on this trip, but will wait to see how what Stokes described as a “belt bridge” when it comes to batting, with surprisingly little grass given the rain last week, look Wednesday afternoon. Shoaib Bashir is nursing a split finger, after bowling almost 38% of his first-class overs in the past month. It is likely that it will be him who gives way to the extra pace option.
With James Anderson fully fit after a quad strain kept him out for the final session of the fourth Test – and just two short of 700 career dismissals – Mark Wood could return for his third match of the series. And while Stokes hailed uncapped quick Gus Atkinson as “an exciting talent”, Ollie Robinson could retain his place in the XI after a disappointing first appearance since last July in the defeat at Ranchi.
Robinson went wicketless in 13 overs devoted only to the first innings after detecting a back problem between the wickets while compiling his first Test fifty. This significantly stifled his effectiveness and, in turn, blunted England's cutting edge with the ball. His misery was compounded by a costly loss to Dhruv Jurel in India's first innings.
Stokes took the opportunity to support Robinson, whose Test record still reads an impressive 76 wickets at 22.92. And he made it clear he views the 30-year-old as an important part of England's future.
“You're more gutted for Ollie than anything on day one, his back affecting the role he can play long term. He's more disappointed that he hasn't been able to help the team as much as he would like.” he said.
“With Ollie, we look at the effort he put in as an individual before and during this tour. His work ethic outside of the game was very good, and he gave himself the best chance to be in position to win this match for us. .
“What you have to consider is that he was on the pitch, trying to influence the game even though he wasn't feeling 100%. A lesser man would have raised his hand, walked away would have gone and not even tried.”
Stokes reserved particular praise for Jonny Bairstow, ahead of the Yorkshire striker's 100th cap. The couple has a long association, starting with age-group cricket. And it was instructive that Bairstow viewed his summer of 2022 – Stokes' first as captain – as a career highlight.
Understandably, Stokes was unwilling to take credit: “It's not me who does that,” referring to the 681 runs made in just six Tests this season. But as a close friend of Bairstow and someone who himself brought up three figures in the third Test at Rajkot and shrugged it off, he knows how much it will mean to the 34-year-old.
“It's probably going to be more emotional for Jonny than it ever was for me. I don't need to go into detail about why, for the whole family. He's got his mum, his sister, his partner, her little boy. and some friends here.
“Playing for England means so much to Jonny and means a lot to his family as well and to play over 100 ODIs, 100 Tests – a lot of cricket for England – it means an enormous amount to him. He deserves everything he deserves. I talked about him in the build-up to the game and throughout the week as well.”
But amid all the pageantry linked to Bairstow and the possibility of closing the gap between them and India, England must first approach this match as it counts, even if it has little weight in the grand scheme of things. Stokes made a note to repeat this to the team before practice began.
“We've toured India so many times – you know what it's like when you get to the end of a long tour – that sometimes you start thinking about the end of the game,” Stokes warned.
“I don't think anyone thinks that way, because every opportunity we feel at the moment is special to play for England. Because we lost the series, that doesn't mean this game is any different than the one in the last week. or the week before.
“We'll think about the plane and getting home once we get to the airport. So I won't think about it at all until the game is over.”
