England v South Africa: Maturing England produce their greatest efficiency of summer time

England v South Africa: Maturing England produce their best performance of summer

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If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.

Not too long ago, England were standing for ages in the field then seeing their wickets fall in a regular clatter.

The revolution under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum hasn’t just been about crashing the ball to all parts and dishing out chin music (although that is fun to watch).

It is not a uniform style of play, but a way of thinking. Players have been backed to the hilt, fear has been removed from failure and the experience of playing for England has been made as enjoyable as possible. The idea is that confidence will grow, resilience build and, just maybe, they will win some games of cricket.

After opening with four thrilling victories in a row, the biggest examination of the Stokes-McCullum philosophy came with the innings defeat in the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s. Despite the scale of the loss, England did not do a lot wrong, but McCullum was right when he said they were “timid”.

England’s response was to…

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