The hardest task for the Ben Stokes-led team, in the opinion of former England captain Nasser Hussain, will be to maintain their aggressive demeanour despite danger. England will host The Ashes 2023 from June 16 to July 31.
Despite Australia being their opponent in the five-match series, England’s captain has insisted that his team will carry on as usual. Since taking over as captain and coach of the England Test team, Stokes and Brendon McCullum have insisted on an aggressive strategy, which has brought decent results over the past ten months.
According to Hussain, the assessment of England’s summer will rely on their performance in the upcoming Ashes. He went on to say that the hardest task for the captain and coach would be to keep playing as if nothing is at stake, even though they know that it is.
Stokes and McCullum will be to keep playing as if it doesn’t really matter: Hussain
Interestingly enough, this remark comes in the vein of what if England happen to lose some wickets early and then still manage to keep up the tempo of the innings? In fact, not long ago, the Australian pacer Mitchell Starc too put forth an important question for the hosts. He challenged the sustainability of the ‘Bazball’ in the game by citing an example. He asked how the English team will fare if they happen to be 50/5 at some stage of the game.
Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail, “Clearly, England’s summer will judge them based on their performance in the Ashes. However, the biggest challenge for Stokes and McCullum will be to keep playing as if it doesn’t really matter, despite their deep-down awareness that it does.”
He continued, saying that, for the time being, we should focus on recapturing the mentality that can alter how Test cricket is played. Nasser Hussain continued by saying that if Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are successful, England may be in for a very exciting summer.
