England set their stall out in recent weeks: Ben Stokes’ joyriders love the thrill of the chase.
England hauled down the 378 India set them, which was their highest successful chase ever, and the highest in England. Already this year, they have chased 299 (currently 6th), 296 (8th), and 277 (13th equal) on their all-time list.
When he won Friday’s toss, skipper Stokes did not say “we’ll have a bowl”, he said “we fancy chasing”. It followed a joke his team-mates had been having in the changing room that they would chase “like you do in one-day cricket”, according to Alex Lees.
This was the second toss Stokes has won this summer, and the second time he has opted to chase. Both times the opposition captain won the toss – New Zealand’s Kane Williamson – he opted to bat first.
Lees said the decision to bat first on both occasions was in part down to a belief that day one was the best time to bowl; they made early inroads, but ended up conceding 551 and 416. But England do not mind that. The strategy appears to be to stay in the game, then play without fear in the fourth innings. With Root and Bairstow, two master chasers of the white ball, in this sort of form anything does feel possible.
“There’s some good experience from recent weeks against New Zealand,” said Lees. “There was ultimate belief in one another from No1 to 11 that we can do it.”
There is a fearlessness to it all, from Bairstow pumping sixes at Trent Bridge to Stuart Broad regularly padding up as a “nighthawk” to go in hunting boundaries if a wicket falls late in the day, rather than a “nightwatchman” shutting up shop until stumps.
Conventional wisdom dictates that you bat first, get runs on the board, then take wickets as the pitch deteriorates. You bowl first only when conditions dictate you must – and if it goes wrong, few forget (just ask Nasser Hussain). England’s new strategy borrows heavily from Eoin Morgan’s 50-over team, who chase at every opportunity.
There are a few other things that have helped. The pitches this summer have been flatter than most in recent years. The weather has generally been good, which has helped keep the ball flying across bone-dry outfields.
The balls have fallen out of shape quickly, too – although that can help fielding teams, like India yesterday, who picked up Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in quick succession with a replacement ball that did plenty more.
Their opponents have generally been pretty compliant (or hubristic?), as well. At Lord’s, New Zealand lost their last six wickets for 34 to set 277. At Trent Bridge, it was six for 108 to set 299. And at Headingley, they lost five for 52 to set 296.
India were also wasteful in the third innings, losing their last seven wickets for 92, many of them in dismal fashion, which rather threw away a first-innings lead of 132 (the biggest half-time margin in the New Zealand series was just 31 in England’s favour at Headingley).
Selection has been an issue for the tourists this year, too. Throw in that India have left out their best spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, while New Zealand picked only Michael Bracewell, a part-timer, after Stokes whacked Ajaz Patel out of the attack at Lord’s, and the fourth innings feels a little simpler. New Zealand had some poor luck as well, with Colin de Grandhomme then Kyle Jamieson going down during the first two chases.
There will be times when conditions are tougher and England’s method is tested. But so far, it has been mighty fun.
