ENG vs IND: I've Brought Eoin Morgan's Mentality & Ethos In The Test Team - Ben Stokes
After leading England to a 3-0 series triumph over New Zealand in his debut series as Test captain after replacing Joe Root, Ben Stokes supervised the completion of a thrilling win over India on Tuesday, bringing the series, which began last summer, to a 2-2 tie.
Stokes’ appointment, which coincided with the employment of Brendan McCullum as Test head coach, came with England having won just one of their previous 17 games.
Morgan, who stepped down as both ODI and T20 captain last month, was named under identical circumstances in 2014, before leading England to a 50-over World Cup victory in 2019. He also led the T20 team to the 2016 World Cup final.
I Have Taken A Lot Of Messaging From Eoin Morgan’s Captaincy: Ben Stokes
When asked if his approach is similar to England’s limited-overs turnaround under Morgan, Stokes told Sky Sports:
“Definitely. Baz (McCullum) and Eoin are really, really good mates. I spent a lot of time under Eoin’s captaincy and I’ve taken a lot of his messaging and how he wanted the team in one-day cricket to go forward and I’ve brought his mentality and his ethos around cricket into this Test environment and everybody’s responded so well to it.
“It’s not just me and Baz, you’ve got to get that response from everybody else and everybody’s just flown into it head-on, and it’s been a great five weeks.”
England’s more aggressive strategy under Stokes and McCullum has resulted in a stunning string of victories, with them chasing fourth-innings targets of 277, 299, 296 and 378.
Stokes believes England’s new approach is scaring opponents, and this was clear when India stumbled after taking a 132-run lead in the first innings.
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Brendon McCullum
