Ben Stokes struck a note of defiance after England’s failed tour of India was sealed with a three-day hammering in the foothills of the Himalayas, insisting his players will learn from the pain of the 4-1 scoreline and stressing neither he nor his team should be written off.
After the tourists were skittled for 195 in only 48.1 overs to complete a grim innings and 64-run defeat, Stokes accepted his own shortcomings – an average of 19.9 after a duck and two in the fifth Test – and said the path ahead was one of two choices. “It is a tough game, cricket, and it can eat you up,” he said. “But this tour in particular is always one that can lead you astray or make you a better player.
“I have done a lot of India tours now. I am obviously disappointed with my performance for the team, but write this team off and you write me off at your own peril.
“You learn from failures. Failures are an unbelievable way of showing what you’re about as a person and a team. You either let it affect you and you’re not able to climb back up that hill, or you take the failures, learn and never lose enthusiasm for what you’re trying to do.”
Asked if fatigue had set in, Stokes replied: “Physically, maybe. But mentally no. I don’t think anyone takes it for granted what a position we find ourselves in. If anyone ever gets into that mental space of ‘I’m too tired to give my all’ then they’re probably in the wrong place.”
India’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, said that, despite the absence of Virat Kohli for the entire series and an injury to KL Rahul that forced new batters to step up, 4-1 reflected how his side’s experienced bowling attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav dominated England’s equally seasoned middle order.
This was borne out by the numbers, Stokes one of three 100-cap players in the England engine room to suffer low-key tours. Jonny Bairstow was constantly stymied after starts and Joe Root returned to form only at the back end of the series, with his century in Ranchi and 84 in the third innings here after three sub-par Test matches.
Shot selection has also remained a hot topic since Root’s reverse-ramp triggered a collapse in Rajkot, a theme that showed no sign of abating on the final day of the series given the aggression that led to the dismissals of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope.
“The lads go out there with plans and try to implement those,” said Stokes, pushing back at this notion. “When that comes with risk that can sometimes be your downfall. I said to [Duckett] afterwards: ‘Think how annoyed you would be to get out to Ashwin just propping forward.’ You look at dismissals but they always get judged on outcome.”
Stokes said it was too soon to consider a personnel shake-up before the summer Tests against West Indies and Sri Lanka, but, by the same token, it is clear that Shoaib Bashir has made a significant impression after 17 wickets in three outings and a second five-wicket haul sealed on the final morning. Tom Hartley, 22 wickets and a match-winner in Hyderabad, was also praised for stepping up after Jack Leach was injured.
How long Jimmy Anderson continues is another question, the 41-year-old bringing up 700 Test wickets but averaging 33 with the ball on tour, a number that swells to 50 over the past 12 months. “Seven-hundred wickets is ridiculous as a fast bowler,” said Stokes. “You have to think of how much he has put his body through to achieve that feat. He’s a complete and utter role model for anyone who wants to be a fast bowler.”
On his own return to bowling after a nine-month hiatus and knee surgery – a five-over spell that included bowling Sharma first ball on day two – Stokes said: “I just love being back in the game with ball in hand, I know how much that helps the team dynamic. I will go back and work even harder to make sure in the summer I’ll play a full role as an all-rounder.”
