Ben Stokes’ darkest hour as captain came at the start of 2024 when England were hammered by Rohit Sharma’s men 4-1 in India.
Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s ‘Bazball’ approach came under introspection after being brutally “exposed” with the head coach admitting that it was time to “reflect” on their aggressive tactics.
Things have changed dramatically since with the retirements of Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“India was a long time ago. Obviously it didn’t go very well for us out there. But that’s in the past. We sort of focus on the here and now,” Stokes said during an interaction in the lead-up to the series.
“We know the conditions at home... But yeah, things can change from day to day. So we’ve got to be sort of mindful of that... Adapt to the situation, whether you may be in front of the game, behind the game or pretty level.
“We’re not looking at the Indian line-up as inexperienced... Yes it can be obviously a little bit easier emotionally if you are experienced, but when you go out in the middle, all of that sort of goes away and then you play what’s in front of you, whether you’re a batter or a bowler... We’re not playing on the fact that India have two very experienced players who are not part of the series.”
Three years into the Stokes-McCullum era, the England captain feels things have “gone well” despite not being able to make the World Test Championship final.
“We’ve gone well over the last three years. But, you know, we want to aim for the top. I know where I want to push this team. I know where I want to take this team, as a collective (unit). And, you know, we want to kick on. Three years, it’s gone very quickly.
“We’ve had more good times than bad. In sport, you generally have more bad times than more bad days and good days... but the beauty of Test cricket is in five days, you can have a bad day, turn it (around) the next day and then you can right all the wrongs which you feel that you’ve done from the previous day... That’s why it’s the best format,” he said.
Stokes didn’t wish to weigh his captaincy stint in terms of results but was more content with giving his full effort towards a winning cause.
“I’ll leave defining my captaincy up to the media to write about and say whatever they want. Look, all I want to do is give my heart and soul towards English cricket, towards being a captain, towards being a leader, and I feel like I’ve done that over the last three years. And I’ll continue to do that in the future. And I will focus on trying to win as many games as I possibly can...”
Playing at home obviously has its own advantages and Stokes is looking forward to it. “We always go out there with a game plan. If we feel we have to adapt, given how things are going or the conditions, whatever it may be, then we’ll obviously have to look to do that.
“But we go out there with a very clear game plan before a ball is bowled, before we see what the conditions are offering, and then we’ll look to adapt from there. India and England are completely different conditions, completely different things that you have to combat.”
The England captain has had his share of injuries in the past year with a hamstring problem requiring surgery. He even gave up alcohol earlier this year hoping the abstinence would help in his recovery process.
“It’s good, you’re an athlete, you’re going to go through injuries. I’m 34, I’ve played a lot of cricket, so it’s not unthinkable to think that I would have a stage of having a few injuries that I wouldn’t want, but that’s part and parcel of doing what we do... I bowl, I bat and I field, so I do quite a lot. But I’m feeling really good about where I’m at (the moment).
“I’ve worked very hard over the last six months from when I had my surgery on my hamstring and I cannot wait to get going. Absolutely raring to go and hopefully can fire on all cylinders, in particular over these next five games against India,” Stokes said.
He refused to accept that Jasprit Bumrah’s exploits in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has instilled any fear element in their ranks.
“No fear. Now, in international cricket, he can work against quality opposition all the time. He’s obviously a fantastic bowler, he’s done very, very well for India over a long period of time now. We know his class, we know what he brings to any team that he plays for. But in terms of fear, definitely not,” Stokes told The Telegraph during the interaction.
“But he’s a high-class bowler and we know that he’s going to present a challenge along with the other bowlers that India have in their squad.
“I don’t think one bowler alone is going to win a series for either team. That’s why it’s a team sport, all 11 of the guys have got to stand up at some point, whether that be over a long period of time or a short period of time or just a couple of singular moments throughout a five-match series.
“So, no, we’re not jumping on any one person in particular to have a good series because I don’t think India will be either. But we respect every opposition that we come up against and we obviously respect every individual that we play against.”
Even the absence of Rohit or Kohli won’t make a significant difference.
“I don’t see how it will affect the series because it will be 11 versus 11 at the end of the day. Virat and Rohit have been phenomenal for India over a long period of time now in the Test format.
“But Indian cricket’s depth in the batting department is incredible. I’ve spent a lot of time out there and seen a lot of good players. And so skill-wise, I think they’ll be just fine,” Stokes said.
The England captain doesn’t think Kohli’s absence will reduce the competitive edge in the forthcoming series.
“What Virat brought to the game and brought to the Indian team... performance-wise, you know... There was energy, there was theatre, there was everything...” he said.
“But in terms of taking away any competitiveness from either side, no... Because it’s India versus England... But yeah, Virat was a very animated character because he really cared about doing well for India.”
Going forward, would he want to make any predictions? “It’s going to be a very hard-fought series, five Test match series always are,” Stokes said.
“We’ll just have to see how it is at the end of the series. Hopefully we have (the upper hand).”
India tour of England, live on Sony Sports Ten 1 and Sony Sports Ten 5 channels from June 20, 3.30pm onwards.