An hour after the presentation, while the Indians had left the stadium, England’s Bazballers were back on the field again. Not with their cricketing kits but rehearsing their football skills as the late afternoon sun glittered on the snow-capped mountain peaks.
The disappointment of their first series loss since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took charge lingered but this was their way to build camaraderie among the group and move on.
This defeat was their worst in the series, bowled out in 57.4 overs in the first innings and 48.1 in the second, the match over within eight sessions. Still, there was no reason to believe that there would be a drastic change or that their tactics and strategy would be questioned. Stokes said it was important that the team stayed true to themselves.
This was McCullum’s way of not “getting stuck in past failures”.
Stokes too doesn’t want to dwell on the what-ifs. “Hindsight never loses,” he said when asked if they could have tried playing five bowlers.
He conceded that England had failed to win the key moments when matches hung in the balance; India stepped up on those occasions and England didn’t.
The batting was reckless and it showed even on what turned out to be the final day of the series. Once Joe Root shunned impetuosity for conventional style after the third Test, he returned scores of 122 not out, 11, 26 and, finally, 84 on Friday.
Stokes warned against writing off his side “at your own peril”. “Sometimes taking risks bring your downfall, but when there’s a reason behind taking these risks that don’t quite work out, that is fine,” he said. “It is a tough game, cricket, and it can eat you up, but this tour is always one that can lead you astray, or make you a better player.