England have enjoyed a remarkable revival in Test match cricket under the new captain and coach combination of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, whitewashing New Zealand 3-0 before producing a record-breaking victory against India.
And Managing Director of England Men's Cricket Rob Key, the man responsible for appointing them both, says the stunning turnaround is simply down to a few small changes, with Stokes and McCullum looking to give players confidence, banish negativity and encourage them to always take the positive option.
Speaking to LancsTV , Key said: "It's little things, it's how you give people confidence. As anyone who's played any sport knows, we're different players when we're confident.
"It's the language and the terminology that's used in the dressing room. It's not negative like 'be careful of this, watch out for that, don't do this'.
"When I was playing we lived in a world where coaches were constantly saying 'don't play that shot, look to leave. Don't play outside off stump, just leave that ball'.
"But the best way to do it is to think positively about it, look to score and then leave. And it's that sort of thing that they've been talking about."
Key also gave some specific examples of how Stokes and McCullum had encouraged Alex Lees and Jonny Bairstow to both play with more freedom. "It's little things really, like Alex Lees for example who played in a stodgy manner in the Caribbean," he added.
"He got 20-odd in the second innings at Lord's and Joe Root had played brilliantly, won the game with a fantastic hundred, and Ben Foakes had played really well. It was obvious that those two had been the standouts
"But Stokesy made a real point in the dressing room afterwards with Alex Lees and was just like 'the way you went and played there, that intent you showed is what we want. That's the best I've ever seen you play for England'. So they're giving full clarity on how they want someone to play.
"It was the same with Jonny, who came out at Lord's in the second innings and played a shot a ball and he drove a couple, went once more and he got bowled. A lot of people would have said 'what were you doing there? That was the last ball of his spell, don't do that again'.
"Whereas actually what they did was turn around and say 'the way you played there, that's what we're about. [We want to see] more of that'."
And Key also fells the bowlers have responded well to that same positive mindset, including veteran seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He continued: "It's not been 'if we don't let the batsmen score then we'll get wickets'.
"Actually it's very simple, we look to take wickets with the ball. You have to be malleable enough to change the plan when the team requires it and do what the team wants you to do.
"And they've loved it because it's taken away some of the fear of going for a few runs. You're giving everyone more options and there's something in it for everyone.
"It does not mean that if you're a less aggressive player there's not a place for you in the team, that's not the case. This will hopefully just bring more out of you because it's freeing you and you're not living in this world of 'don't do this'."
