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The five-match Test series against India at home is a massive Test for England's 'Bazball' brand of cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. While the rescheduled Edgbaston Test against Asian giants in 2022 to retain the trophy after a 2-2 draw gave India their first experience of England's newfound fearlessness and freedom, the question remains if they could sustain it for a prolonged period against an Indian side with a peak Jasprit Bumrah?
The 2022 Edgbaston win against India and a well-fought draw against Australia in the Ashes back in 2023 proved that Stokes-McCullum's mantra of positive, attacking and result-oriented cricket was here to stay. What followed were some promising wins and disheartening lows, home and away. Despite some failures away from home, England has been excellent at home under Stokes-McCullum, winning 15 out of their 20 Tests, losing four (two against Australia, one each against Sri Lanka and South Africa) and drawing just one. Under Stokes-McCullum, England has enjoyed a win percentage of 75 per cent. This is the second-highest among all teams worldwide, with only South Africa having a better statistic with 87.5 per cent, who have won seven out of eight home Tests since June 2022, the month during which England started their new era under this duo against New Zealand at home. The batting average of England's top seven at home under Stokes-McCullum is 43.86, which is the second-highest, just behind Sri Lanka's 44.39. Also, the strike rate of 73.90 is miles ahead of every other team in the world, with India being distant rivals with a 60.88 strike rate. England's Bazball era has seen players live, breathe and swear by their new style of cricket. The entire team from openers to even tailenders, tonk sixes effortlessly and are capable of stringing together something decent on their worst day. Among the players in the current scheme of things, Joe Root (1,783 runs in 20 Tests and 33 innings at an average of 63.67, with a strike rate of 70.81, seven centuries and seven fifties), the number three Ollie Pope (1,352 runs in 17 Tests and 29 innings at an average of 48.28, with a strike rate of 76.16, five centuries and five fifties), Zak Crawley (1,045 runs in 17 Tests and 29 innings at an average of 38.70, with strike rate of 77.29, two centuries and five fifties), Ben Duckett (1,007 runs in 13 and 26 Tests at an average of 47.95, strike rate of 88.87, with two centuries and five fifties) and Stokes himself (974 runs in 17 Tests and 25 innings at an average of 42.34, strike rate of 71.04, with two centuries and seven fifties) have displayed consistency and tempo befitting an ODI cricketer, that too in Test cricket. These statistics prove that at home, England is indeed 'Bazballing' in style. Will India bring an end to their brilliant home run with a series win for ages? (ANI)
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