Ashes 2023: Captaincy Lessons On How To Approach Test Cricket

England: With the Edgbaston Test of the Ashes 2023 series intriguingly poised, one cannot but admire the way the two sides, especially England, have approached the entire process and notice what a far cry it is from the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which culminated in being another inglorious chapter for Indian cricket not too long ago. The manner in which England skipper Ben Stokes has approached the job is not just a reflection of his leadership qualities but also the thought process of the entire squad in terms of how to try and win from Ball One.

We had all seen how the WTC final had gone. India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss but between him, coach Rahul Dravid and the rest of the coaching staff (whose real job is still a mystery), they decided that Australia should have first use of the pitch and straightaway, India were losing the match.

By contrast, England not only batted first, they made their gameplan clear from Ball 1. Score quickly and put the opposition under pressure.

Would India (or several other teams) have declared towards the end of Day One, throwing down the challenge straightaway?

But then, that would only apply of India batted first, right? So, a moot point.

All the talk of ‘Bazball’ is not jus that. It actually exists. Coach Brendon McCullum is omnipresent in England’s body language.

One look at how Stokes and McCullum plotted century-scorer Usman Khawaja’s inning is a case in point. With the left-handed opener not looking in any trouble at all, it was time to think out of the box and the rather unorthodox and in-your-face field placements worked wonders.

Stokes sealed off Khawaja’s run-scoring areas, particularly in the straight V and lo and behold, the batter had to improvise and that didn’t work out well.

The England skipper is struggling with his form but that has not made his side any weaker. He has contributed elsewhere, which is how captaincy should work.
Australia have not been too far behind, though as thing stand after three days., they would be well served to bowl decently on the fourth day.

Nevertheless, they are very much in the fight, despite some very aggressive approach from England. But the difference in tactics is evident even here, as it was in the WTC final.

There is a lot of noise back home in India about how the new crop of players needs to be fielded and how the older fellows need to be given a break, at least for the West Indies series.

All that will not do much, if the approach and tactics remain the same. There is no harm in taking notes from a side like England, which has taken Test cricket to a level where it may survive.

Unlike the Team India approach of avoiding defeat first, rather than going for a win. That could well seal the fate of Test cricket, it not repaired rapidly.