Ian JohnSince taking over from Joe Root as the captain of the England National Test Cricket team, Ben Stokes has overseen an entirely new approach to how the England team are going to play.
Out has gone the conservative approach, playing for a result and instead Stokes along with coach Brendan McCullum has ushered in an era of non-stop attacking cricket which has been a breath of fresh air.
The recent one run defeat to New Zealand on the last ball of the test match typified the new gung-ho, all out for the win approach that England are now adopting, but is it working and perhaps more importantly, can it work over the longer term to generate some much needed success for the England test team?
With England now focused on a busy year ahead, which includes an Ashes series, let’s take a look first at what McCullum and Stokes inherited and what has happened since, before we then forecast ahead as to how we can see the Summer and Winter of 2023/24 going.
What Did Ben Stokes Inherit As Captain?
When Joe Root made it clear he wanted to relinquish the captaincy of England to focus on his own performance and place in the team, Ben Stokes was the standout candidate to replace him.
A hero in leading England to a sensational Golden Over win over New Zealand in the World Cup, not to mention a number of sensational performances in Test cricket both with the bat and ball, Stokes was the only real candidate to take over from Root from a perspective of performance and respect not just in English cricket but around the world.
Root had endured a mixed captaincy of sorts, there were some hugely promising results, such as the 4-1 test series win over India in 2018 and two 3-1 test series wins over South Africa in 2017 and 2019/20, but there was the fact that he didn’t win an Ashes series plus over the final year or so of his captaincy England’s last five test series yielded five series defeats and just two out of 16 test matches won in that time.
In the end Joe Root left the England captaincy role having captained them for 64 tests, winning 27, losing 26 with 11 test matches drawn but very much in the thrall of a downward spiral in terms of winning test matches.
“Epitomises The Mentality And Approach”
After Root’s resignation, Robert Key was tasked with finding the new England captain and it was no surprise when he offered the role to Stokes.
“He epitomises the mentality and approach we want to take this team forward into the next era of red-ball cricket.”
“The time is right for him. Ultimately he has been a leader in that dressing room for a long, long time. He’s been the one that people have turned to a lot of the time, that people follow.”
“He will be a strong leader, make no mistake about that. He has a good cricket brain and a hell of a lot of empathy as well.”
Outgoing skipper Root tweeted his support too:
“Always got reach other’s backs. Congratulations mate, I’ll be right with you every step of the way.” Stated Root in his Tweet.
Stokes said he was “honoured” to be offered the position and said that it was “a real privilege” as well as thanking Joe Root for everything he has done for English cricket over the years.
2020 Stand In To 2022 Real Deal
While Ben Stokes first series as captain would be the 2022 series against New Zealand, he had captained the team in Root’s absence in a 2020 test against the West Indies, which England had lost.
However, with Stokes and McCullum instilling an all-out-attacking approach for the team, England won Stokes first series as captain 3-0 over the Kiwis and they followed that with a delayed win over India and then they completed the Summer with a 2-1 win over the visiting South African test team.
In December, England toured Pakistan for the first time in many years and came away with a 3-0 test series win and they then followed that up with a 1-1 draw in a 2 test series with New Zealand, which culminated with the 1-ball loss in the final test match meaning that England drew the series 1-1.
So in the 13 test matches since Stokes took over England have beaten Pakistan, India, South Africa and New Zealand amassing four series wins, one draw with ten tests won, three defeats with no drawn matches.
England are now ranked 3rd in the ICC Men’s Test Team World Rankings.
That is a hugely encouraging start, but what tests to England face over the rest of 2023 and into 2024?
Stokes’ England – Forthcoming Test Opponents in 2023/24
Here’s the test match series Stokes’ England face in 2023/24.
- One Match Series – v Ireland (June 1st to 4th at Lords)
Ireland will play England in a one-match series at Lords to kick off the summer and give England some Ashes preparation ahead of the series.
- The Ashes 2023 – v Australia (Summer 2023)
- Test 1 – 16th to 20th June at Edgbaston
- Test 2 – 28th Jun to 2nd July at Lords
- Test 3 – 6th – 10th July at Headingly
- Test 4 – 19th to 23rd July at Old Trafford
- Test 5 – 27th to 31st July at The Oval
One of the highlights of the sporting summer, England will attempt to win the Ashes for the first time in several years on home soil across five tests at the five traditional Ashes venues.
- Tour of India – v India (Jan/Feb 2024) – 5 Test Series
England will test their skills against India in a five test series at the start of 2024.
- England v West Indies – 3 Test Series – July 2024
The West Indies return for the first time since 2020 for a 3-test series in the summer.
- England v Sri Lanka – Test Series – August 2024
Sri Lanka will tour England in the summer playing an unspecified number of tests in August.
- Tour of Pakistan – 3 Test Series – October 2024
England return to Pakistan for the 2nd time in 2 years for another 3 test series.
- Tour of New Zealand – v New Zealand (Dec 2024) – 3 Test Series
England will finish the year with a trip to New Zealand to take on the Kiwi’s in a three-test series in December 2024.
It is certainly a tough and rigorous schedule, especially when you consider that Ben Stokes is also a key component of England’s white ball One Day team.
Ot is an exciting time for English cricket and it is going to be interesting to see how this relatively new team develops under the new captain and coach partnership.
NoDepositPoker.co.uk is an affiliate of the brands we promote throughout this site. While we strive to maintain accuracy throughout our content, we do receive compensation for this promotion.
