Chris Woakes Exclusive: 'Beating India hard, but 'Bazball' hopefully will make it difficult for them'

England have had a sensational run in international cricket across formats, but all the more so in Test cricket since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum ushered in the era of ‘Bazball’, which has become one of the most discussed terms among cricket pundits and fans since the summer of 2022. Not only has their slam-bang approach for the traditional, five-day format revolutionised the game, it has also given them an unbeaten series streak that has now stretched for a year-and-a-half and has made them the team to beat.

In a couple of days, however, Stokes is set to face his biggest test as captain yet — that of facing India in a five-Test series in India, a challenge that some might describe as cricket’s answer to climbing Mount Everest.

Beating the Indian team in their own backyard isn’t something that’s entirely new to the Englishmen; they were, after all, the last side to do so, having pulled off an epic come-from-behind 2-1 series victory under Alastair Cook’s leadership against MS Dhoni’s men. That remains the last time India were tamed in a Test series on their own turf, and have since barely allowed visiting teams the opportunity to even land a blow, let alone knock them out.

Read | Finn urges England to learn from 2012 team to replicate Test success in India

Whether their novel ‘Bazball’ approach can help the Stokes-led side emulate Cook’s men remains to be seen, but according to England pacer Chris Woakes,  it should make the task of collecting another Test series win on home soil that much more difficult for the Indian team that is now captained by Rohit Sharma.

“I think it’s going to be a huge, huge challenge. But whether they can pull off a repeat of the 2012-13 win is yet to be seen. It’s going to be hard obviously. India have got some world-class players, they’re a world-class team, and obviously going to India for a five-match series is extremely tough. So, they’re definitely up against it, but the whole ‘Bazball’ so to speak way of playing hopefully will make it difficult for India obviously in their home conditions.

Read | ‘What better stage to entertain than India in India?’: Brendon McCullum

“It’s never an easy place to tour, but I think you have to find ways to put India under pressure, otherwise they’ll steamroll you. I think it will be good to try a different brand of cricket from what we have done previously in India. By no means it’s going to be easy but I think it’s their best way of upsetting the odds and coming away with a few wins, hopefully a series win,” Woakes told Firstpost in an exclusive chat on the sidelines of the International League T20, where he represents the Sharjah Warriors.

India have not lost a Test series in their own backyard since 2012. AP

One of the key challenges that await teams visiting India for a Test series is that of facing world-class spin in conditions that are suited for that category of bowling. Like South Africa and Pakistan and their ability to churn out quality pacers time and time again, India have been able to maintain a formidable arsenal of tweakers across eras. Whether it was the quartet of the 1970s, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh in the 2000s or Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the present era.

Read | ‘Lack of match preparation’ might trouble Englishmen: Alastair Cook

According to Woakes, the ability to master spin is one of the prerequisites for visiting teams if they plan on challenging the Indian team in their own backyard.

“First and foremost, you’ve probably got to play spin extremely well. World-class spinners in conditions that are going to suit spin, make it extremely tough. You’ve got Jadeja, Ashwin, Axar, Kuldeep. Four world-class spinners and Ashwin and Jadeja are probably the main two. So hard to get on top of, they’re just relentless in their skill and execution. So I think being able to tame their spinners is probably the most important thing.”

Read | Rank turners will be a challenge for Indians batters too: Venkatapathy Raju

At the same time, however, Woakes urged the Englishmen to stick to the approach that has brought them so much success in recent months.

“But as I said, I think England’s best chance of winning is by sticking to their plans and playing the way they’ve played in the last 18 months, and that’s by being aggressive, trying to put India under pressure. Because as soon as India get on top in India, you have to hide into nothing, it’s so hard to get back in the game. I think they have to try and get their foot on the throat early and obviously keep it there. It’s obviously easier said than done, but I believe playing the aggressive brand of cricket that they’ve played for so long now is probably the best way of taming India,” Woakes added.

‘Stokes the sort of player that you want to follow’

Woakes has been playing far more frequently under Jos Buttler’s leadership in the white-ball formats than under Stokes in the Test setup. The only time he’s managed to don the white kit since the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to move on from Joe Root and Eoin Morgan as red and white-ball captains respectively was in last year’s Ashes at home.

Despite playing just three Tests in the five-match series, the Warwickshire all-rounder finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in that series, collecting 19 wickets at an average of 18.15, besides making a vital contribution or two with the bat. His efforts helped the Englishmen produce a heroic fightback from 0-2 down, ultimately holding the Pat Cummins-led visitors to a 2-2 draw and preserving their 22-year unbeaten run against the Aussies in the process.

Ben Stokes is touring India for the first time as England Test captain. Reuters

Talking about Stokes as a leader from his three-match experience of playing under the fellow seam-bowling all-rounder’s captaincy, Woakes described him as the “sort of player that you want to follow” and someone who goes about life the way he goes about playing cricket.

“I think he’s been fantastic obviously. Since he’d come in, he’s very much showed his character and personality within his captaincy. He certainly goes about life the way he plays cricket. He’s very much keen to impact his colleagues in the way that he wants to play the game as well. The most important thing for him is his clarity of messages being backed up by his actions,” Woakes said.

“I think when you’ve got a captain that’s willing to let you go out and play that way give you the full backing to do so, I think it gives you a real clarity and also real confidence to go and really test the limits I suppose and push the ceiling, see how far you can get and see how well you can play and how good you can be. He’s the sort of player that you want to follow.

“Within the dressing room and outside of that, he’s the guy you want to be around and I think he’s been a brilliant breath of fresh air for the England side. Him and Brendon have certainly brought a different dynamic to the way they want to play cricket and so far it’s been successful. So, hopefully that can continue,” the all-rounder added.

The five-Test series between India and England gets underway at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium from Thursday, 25 January. Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala are set to host the remaining fixtures in the series, with the BCCI deciding to move away from the traditional Test centres and take the elite format to Tier-2 cities for the marquee series.

The series will also mark the final assignments for both teams before this year’s T20 World Cup, with the Indian Premier League taking place in between.