Ben Stokes, the English red-ball captain, expressed confidence in his team’s capacity to chase in Test matches. After winning 1-0 at Headingley, England will play the Shubman Gill-led team at Edgbaston in the second Test of the five-match series starting on July 2.
Although chasing down 371 in the first Test was an incredible performance, Stokes thought that if England had to chase down another significant total, they will tackle things one at a time and start from fresh.
When we must bat in the fourth innings, we are sure in our ability to go out and chase. That is undoubtedly the result of many positive encounters during the previous three or four years. You are therefore inherently confident when you go out there in the fourth inning. Still, we knew we needed to play exceptionally well to come close, and 370 [371 in Headingley] is a lot of runs. This week is a fresh game, but [there is] even more confidence than there was last week. On the eve of the second Test of the current five-match series against India, Stokes told the media, “We start from zero again.”
Stokes was happy with his ability to bowl for extended periods of time at a steady pace. In the first game, he had bowled 35 overs and taken five wickets at a respectable economy rate.
“I made every effort to avoid worrying about anything but the things we typically worry about. However, everything is going well after that game. I feel happy about all of my spells, and I can have spells all day long.
One of the things I wanted to focus on was keeping up my pace, which I was able to do,” Stokes continued.
England chased down 371 runs, which was the third chase of 350 or more at Headingley and their second-highest total in Test matches against India. Stokes’ comments demonstrated that England will keep up their unrelenting batting strategy while pursuing any kind of target.
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