England’s Test side didn’t look like winning a match when Joe Root stood down as captain three months ago.
They hadn’t tasted victory since the previous August – a run stretching nine games – and suffered 11 defeats following their series win in Sri Lanka in January 2021. Fast forward to today, however, and England look unstoppable under new captain Ben Stokes.
They’ve won four consecutive Tests against New Zealand and India – the two nations that contested the World Test Championship Final last summer – by chasing down targets of 277, 299, 296 and 378. The latter is England’s highest successful run chase in history.
