England’s new-look Test side target unbeaten summer

After struggling on tour in India earlier this year, it was clear that something needed to change for England’s Test side. Luckily for us, the guys in charge have no fear when it comes to shaking things up.

England have become famous for their all-action, aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach in recent years and after packing their squad with young and hungry stars this year, they’re finally reaping the benefits.

England sweep West Indies aside

In the first of England’s summer Test series, Ben Stokes’ side came up against the West Indies in three matches and ultimately taught them a cricketing lesson, with the first game coming at Lord’s.

Gus Atkinson produced a masterclass with the ball, wowing the fans at the home of cricket with 7/45 and then 5/61 as he was awarded ‘Player of the Match’. England ran out clear winners, beating their opponents by an entire innings and 114 runs.

Atkinson was less impressive with the bat as he was out for a duck but luckily his teammates were on form, with Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith all hitting half-centuries. For the visitors, Gudakesh Motie’s unbeaten 31 was his side’s highest score in a disappointing team performance.

The West Indies improved for the second Test at Trent Bridge, although they still weren’t great. Pope, who was later made captain ahead of the Sri Lanka series, proved his leadership qualities as he stepped up with a strong performance.

The 26-year-old scored an impressive 121 in the first innings, following it up with a half century in the second. The West Indies managed to get more runs on the board, including a big 120 from Kavem Hodge, but five wickets from Shoaib Bashir secured England their second win on the spin.

And with the series already wrapped up ahead of the finale at Edgbaston, England continued to flourish. Atkinson secured ‘Player of the Series’ with another strong bowling performance, while Root and Smith strutted their stuff with huge knocks as the hosts won by 10 wickets.

England start strongly against Sri Lanka

Brendon McCullum’s preparation for the visit of Sri Lanka was far from ideal. Stokes was ruled out for the rest of the summer after tearing his hamstring in The Hundred, which led to Pope filling in as captain.

But it didn’t seem to bother England as they won the opening match at Old Trafford by five wickets. Sri Lanka looked to be just as poor as the West Indies as their opening five batsmen combined for just 47 runs but captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Milan Rathnayake saved face with scores of 70-plus apiece.

However, a century from Smith gave England a huge lead and despite big knocks from Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal, the hosts were never in danger and comfortably held on to start the series strongly.

The second Test gets underway at Lord’s on Thursday and England will be full of confidence as they target their fifth consecutive red-ball win. The series concludes at The Oval, with the third and final Test match starting on Friday 6th September.

Can ‘Bazball’ get the better of India?

England have got a busy end to 2024, with white-ball series against Australia and the West Indies, as well as trips to Pakistan and New Zealand for overseas Test matches. They’ll then take on India and the West Indies again in both T20 and ODI matches next year.

McCullum’s side have also scheduled a one-off Test match against Zimbabwe, which gets underway at Trent Bridge next May. That game will give a good indication of where England are before their biggest challenge of 2025 comes in the form of a home Test series against India.

They’ll kick things off in Headingley before heading to Edgbaston, Lord’s and Old Trafford, ahead of finishing the summer at The Oval as is tradition. And while they’re enjoying a strong run of form of late, India are a different beast altogether.

The two sides locked horns earlier this year and India ran out 4-1 winners in their home Test series. England’s bowling attack will still be having nightmares about Yashasvi Jaiswal, who averaged 89 as he scored a phenomenal 712 runs.

The scariest part about Jaiswal is that he’s still only 22, meaning his best years are still a long way ahead of him. For comparison, England’s highest scorer during the series was Crawley, who scored more than 300 runs fewer than the Indian superstar.

But a home series will be a different ball game for England’s players, who will be more used to the climate and the pitches that they face on a daily basis. The best part for McCullum is that we’ve got a year to work out our strongest team as we build towards the future.

This summer saw big changes take place, with James Anderson’s long international career coming to an end, while the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes lost their places in the squad. The England side was packed with untried players and, for the most part, they’ve more than repaid the faith shown in them.

Both Atkinson and Smith were uncapped before the West Indies series and they’ve been the standout players for England so far. Similarly, Bashir has more than played his part as the first-choice spinner. If McCullum can continue to perfect the balance between youth and experience, there’s no reason why they can’t get the better of India, just as they did back in 2018 when the hosts won the series 4-1.

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