England must start winning – Test cricket is not an exhibition

Captain Ben Stokes has often shown that he is talented and mentally strong under pressure but recently as soon as he has come in he has given his wicket away trying to bash any and every bowler for sixes rather than batting to the team situation.

Ben should be the rock in the middle order, assessing the situation and controlling the innings. He has a good defence and we have seen him play sensibly many times before. He can do it.

Test match cricket should not be about how many sixes you hit or how many runs you score in the fewest number of balls. We can afford Root and Stokes batting solidly because England have plenty of flair in Zak Crawley and Harry Brook.

Every team in every era needs a Denis Compton, a David Gower or a Kevin Pietersen. They were players with charisma and flair who got people on the edge of their seats and took the game away from the opposition. But it is not smart for everyone to try doing it.

In India last winter, ego and hubris got the better of some of our players. They came out with comments about being entertainers and how it was important to score quickly and thrill the crowds. All that is laudable but they should never lose sight that there is a winner and a loser and losing isn’t much fun.

Test match cricket is not an exhibition. If our players start to think that results don’t matter then they might as well join a circus or go around the world like the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team doing tricks, laughing and joking and not bothering who wins so long as everyone has a fun time.

A great coach once said winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing. And he was right. Would you want someone in your team who enjoys losing? Not me.

England should have beaten Australia, but didn’t. The India series started okay, but then went downhill fast. England need to get back to winning. Winning becomes a habit and creates momentum which in turn breeds confidence and helps build a strong team.

England must get into that winning habit as soon as possible to have any chance of getting back the Ashes in Australia in 2025-6. It sounds a long way away but it will come around very quickly.