England will walk out with the same mindset against India: Stokes

England skipper Ben Stokes, on the back of his side’s 3-0 sweep over New Zealand, described the series win over the Kiwis as a phenomenal achievement and asserted that the Three Lions will walk out with the same aggressive mindset against India at Edgbaston later this week. 

The Stokes-McCullum era got underway against the BlackCaps, and England displayed a brand of cricket that left the whole world in awe. The Three Lions adopted an ultra-aggressive approach, with both bat and ball, and not just won the three-Test series 3-0, but did so in imperious fashion. With the bat they maintained a series run rate of 4.54 — second best in Test history in a three-match series — and today, became the first ever side to chase down 250+ totals in three consecutive matches.

An ecstatic Stokes praised his side and the coaching staff, spoke about the team’s philosophy and sent out a warning to the Indian side.

“It has gone really well. A 3-0 win against the best team in the world, it's absolutely phenomenal. It's about the change of the mindset of the lads towards Test cricket. To say that we have done it so quickly is unbelievable. Huge credit to Brendon and the backroom staff,” Stokes said on Monday.

“Trent Bridge was incredible but being 55 for 6 and then doing what we did and the manner in which we did was the most pleasing thing. It has really set the level people want to come in and perform for the Test side.

“India are a different opposition but we will come out with the same mindset.”

What stood out about England’s clean sweep was the sheer number of individuals that stepped up. Joe Root did Joe Root things, but the series also witnessed the resurgence of Jonny Bairstow, the rise of Matt Potts, the revitalization of Jack Leach and the upturn in the form of young Ollie Pope. Stokes had words of praise for every individual that contributed to the special series win.

“Pottsy has taken it like fish to water. Broady, even at 36, bowling these many overs, and fantastic to see Leachy. When we got together, we picked the players who offer the best in every position. Pope's been fantastic, carrying his form from Surrey and showing the world what Pope is about.”

Meanwhile Joe Root, England’s Player of the Series, lavished praise on Jonny Bairstow, who on Monday struck England’s second-fastest Test fifty, and spoke about the belief and the togetherness that currently exists within this English side. 

“It's like 50-overs stuff, he (Bairstow) is hitting the ball so well. I'm sure everyone were enjoying it. It's great to see him show to the rest of the world how good he is,” Root said of Bairstow.

“The guys kept getting more and more confident this series. We are all loving playing, it's great. It's important to enjoy this series win. It's a great group of fellows, we are all good mates. We should leave what's happened and concentrate on what we've done in the last few weeks,” he added.

For England, the caravan now moves to Birmingham, where they’ll be aiming to level the five-match series against India.