"If Stokes and McCullum can succeed in that, we could be in for one hell of a summer" - Nasser Hussain on England maintaining aggressive approach
Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that Ben Stokes and Co.'s biggest challenge comes in the form of having to maintain their aggressive approach even during times of peril.
Stokes has maintained that the team will continue to operate in the same fashion despite the opponents being arch-rivals Australia and the stage being the famous Ashes series.
Since taking over the England Test team, the captain and coach duo of Stokes and Brendon McCullum have been insistent on an aggressive approach, which has yielded them solid results over the course of the last 10 months.
Opining that England's summer will be judged on how they compete against Australia in the Ashes, Nasser Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail:
"Clearly England’s summer will be judged on how they get on in the Ashes, though, and the biggest challenge for Stokes and McCullum will be to keep playing as if it doesn’t really matter, even though they know deep down that it does."
He continued:
"For now, it’s about recreating the mindset that has threatened to change the way Test cricket is played. If Stokes and McCullum can succeed in that, we could be in for one hell of a summer."
England have already announced their squad for the Ashes, and while they are battling a couple of minor injury concerns at the moment, they should have a near-full squad for the five-match series starting from June 16.
"You can never treat a Test match as a warm-up" - Nasser Hussain
England will commence their red-ball season with a one-off Test against Ireland at the Lord's from June 1 onwards. The hosts already announced their playing XI, where the returning wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow replaced Ben Foakes while pacer Josh Tongue is set for his England debut.
Commenting on the decision of dropping Foakes from the playing XI, Hussain said:
"The decision to go with Jonny Bairstow ahead of Ben Foakes makes perfect sense in that respect. I feel for Foakes, who is one of the best keepers in the world and has done nothing wrong. You can never treat a Test match as a warm-up, no matter what lies ahead."
England's playing XI for one-off Test against Ireland
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue (Debut), Jack Leach.
Who will win the upcoming Test between England and Ireland? Let us know what you think.