Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’s side have developed clarity in the final innings and never seem to give up
Sports writers love a Churchillian speech that precedes a mind-bending feat. Take three years ago, when word got back that Brendon McCullum had told his England players to “run towards the danger” at Trent Bridge before Jonny Bairstow vaporised a target of 299 against New Zealand. It was like ruddy catnip for the press corps.
This time, after reeling in 371 at Headingley on Tuesday at a breezy 4.5 runs per over and with 14 overs to spare? Apparently very little was said in the dressing room beforehand beyond “bat the day, win the game” or Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett deciding between them to ignore the target and just “play like it was day one”.
Written by Ali Martin
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jun/25/england-ease-off-bazball-big-talk-but-continue-to-embrace-thrill-of-the-chase under the title “England ease off Bazball big talk but continue to embrace thrill of the chase”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
