LONDON: Ben Stokes promised England would maintain their bold approach to Test cricket under manager Brendon McCullum after winning a 2-1 series against South Africa at the Oval on Monday.
The match was shortened to three days after the first day was carried away and the second canceled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
But England still needed less than half an hour to seal victory by nine wickets in front of a sparse crowd in London.
“This game here, being shortened, our main objective was for it to end with a result,” England captain Stokes told Sky Sports.
“We felt we owed it to ourselves, we owed it to the nation who have shown us their support throughout this summer and we will always continue to play in a way that we believe will entertain people and always look for the positive side of cricket.”
The win capped a glorious summer for England with the red ball. They swept the series against world Test champions New Zealand 3-0 and beat India in a Test postponed from last year after a coronavirus outbreak.
An attack-oriented approach underlined all of these victories.
“Me and Brendon are the guys sending that message to this group of players,” Stokes said.
“I told the guys in the locker room the other day that whoever is delivering the message can’t do much. But I thanked all my team, my backstage staff and my coaches they all brought in there.
“There’s a reason we came out and were able to play and have the trust in each other to go and do it. It’s something that’s very rare and something you don’t see that often.”
The match was shortened to three days after the first day was carried away and the second canceled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
But England still needed less than half an hour to seal victory by nine wickets in front of a sparse crowd in London.
“This game here, being shortened, our main objective was for it to end with a result,” England captain Stokes told Sky Sports.
“We felt we owed it to ourselves, we owed it to the nation who have shown us their support throughout this summer and we will always continue to play in a way that we believe will entertain people and always look for the positive side of cricket.”
The win capped a glorious summer for England with the red ball. They swept the series against world Test champions New Zealand 3-0 and beat India in a Test postponed from last year after a coronavirus outbreak.
An attack-oriented approach underlined all of these victories.
“Me and Brendon are the guys sending that message to this group of players,” Stokes said.
“I told the guys in the locker room the other day that whoever is delivering the message can’t do much. But I thanked all my team, my backstage staff and my coaches they all brought in there.
“There’s a reason we came out and were able to play and have the trust in each other to go and do it. It’s something that’s very rare and something you don’t see that often.”