England have ‘massively evolved’ on India tour despite series loss
Ben Stokes insists England have āmassively evolvedā on their tour of India and have not āgone backwardsā.
England have already lost the series as they are 3-1 behind ahead of the final Test in Dharamsala, which starts on March 7 live on TNT Sports.
It is the first series defeat England have suffered since Stokes took over as captain two years ago.
“Just because the scoreline at the moment reads 3-1, it doesn’t mean that we’ve gone backwards,” said Stokes.
“There are lots of these things that we have massively progressed on as a team whilst out on this tour.
“If you take the results by itself you’d say, ‘we’re going backwards’, but we haven’t. The individuals and the team have massively evolved on this tour.
“The way in which everyone committed to becoming a better version of themselves from when we last played was quite obvious; everyone’s fitter and it was just a really different feel around how we operated from the summer before.
“You don’t just get given an opportunity to go and represent England, you don’t just get given an opportunity to play in this team. Once you’re in, you have to earn it and keep it.”
England won the opening match of the series in Hyderabad but then lost three in a row as India fought back.
England, who had chances to take control in every Test, have now lost six of their last 11 Test matches.
They could pick three fast bowlers for the first time this series on a pitch that Stokes says is a ābelting deckā.
That might mean Ollie Robinson retains his place despite a disappointing showing last time out that saw him go wicketless in the first innings and then not bowl at all in the second.
Stokes praised Robinsonās commitment even though he was dealing with a back issue.
“You are more gutted for Ollie that something on day one, his back going, which effects the role he can play in the long run,ā said Stokes.
āHe is more disappointed that he couldn’t help the team out as much as he’d like.
“With Ollie, we look at the effort he put in as an individual leading up to and on this tour. His work ethic away from playing was very good, and he gave himself the best chance of being in position to win that game for us.
“The thing to look at is that he was out on the field, trying to influence the game even though he wasn’t feeling 100 per cent. A lesser man would have put their hands up, walked away and not even tried.”
HOW TO WATCH INDIA V ENGLAND TEST SERIES ON TNT SPORTS
TNT Sports will become the new official broadcast home of England menās tours of India in 2024, 2025 and 2028.
TNT Sports has also agreed a deal to show exclusive live coverage of every red-ball and white-ball international series played in India for the next five years.
Cricket fans will not miss a single delivery, boundary or wicket of England’s five-Test tour in India in 2024.
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