New England is as dangerous as it ever has been!

Before the start of the day's play, New Zealanders knew that the England team would try to chase whatever they put on board. That is how Brendon McCullum used to play and he of course instilled that mentality in the England national team. However, what the fans at Trent Bridge witnessed was pure magic and full of class from Jonny Bairstow. Chasing a mammoth target of 299 runs, the lions from England did it in 50 overs to win the 2nd test of the series and clinch the test series.

After a relatively slow start, the players were aware of the fact that the likes of Bairstow and Stokes were present to take the game into the next level and so did they. Bairstow in his blistering form scored 136 of just 92 balls while Captain Stokes scored 75 of 70 balls to take the England team home. Nothing really worked for the Kiwi pacers as the team failed to win another bi-lateral series away from their home.

So, what’s the reason behind England’s rise as a test nation? Well, it’s the approach and the mentality. A lot of legends of the England team criticised the Indian T20 League for the downfall of their test cricket. Last afternoon, it was a certain Jonny Bairstow who played a T20 kind of a knock to win it for England. So, that is nothing but an excuse. Something, McCullum knows and is using it to strengthen the team.

Except for Zak Crawley, everyone has proved their calibre in the series. Their main test however will be against India in the series decider that is scheduled to happen in the month of July. Their attacking approach will be tested against some of the best bowlers in the world in the form of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and others. Till then, the team should celebrate as the England team is back to winning ways after a long tie.

Captain Ben Stokes was of course elated with his team’s performance. Speaking in the post-match conference the 31-year-old said, “Everyone put their hands up at different stages, everyone contributed to this win. (NZ) Being a seamer down was a huge advantage for us, and not allowing them to settle”. Talking about the talented keeper-batter Foakes, Stokes said, “He's the best keeper in the world (Foakes). He's fantastic with the gloves. You can see him progressing as a batsman”.

Jonny Bairstow was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his brilliant knock. In the post-match conference, the 32-year-old said, “It was just great fun to be out there. Just one of those things, when you get in that kind of mood, you just got to go with it. Ben at the other end said don't even think about it. That's how it went. We know the power we've got in the middle order. Today was our day, and what a day it's been. Thanks so much for coming. We saw it as a one-day game. The pitch was very good, the outfield was very fast. The brand of cricket we're looking to play, days like this are very exciting. If this is happening now, let's see what will happen in the next few months”.