Ex-England seamer Steven Finn says the tourists must temper their ‘Bazball’ tendencies and display deliberate aggressiveness to defeat India in the next Test series.
The 34-year-old believes England may draw inspiration from how their skipper performed in the 2012 leg in India.
Sir Alastair Cook is the last captain to win a Test series in India, having had a fantastic series with the bat.
In four matches, the Essex opener scored 562 runs at 80.29 with three hundred, including a high of 190.
In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Finn credited Cook and Kevin Pietersen for the series triumph in 2012.
Cook ground them down, and then Pietersen came out and played this knock, and everyone was like, ‘Oh my god, we’re going to win this series’.
That was the moment we all realised, he explained.
I believe England can take some inspiration from how it damaged India’s performance and apply it to this series, but it will have to be calculated aggressiveness.
The 34-year-old said that England could apply pressure on India in phases.
He said that if you go all out from the start, you can get unstuck.
However, giving yourself an opportunity and then applying pressure on India may benefit England.
Since Ben Stokes took over as captain, England has been aggressive in the long format.
While the English upset Pakistan 3-0 in their backyard in 2022, defeating India at home is perhaps the most difficult assignment in Test cricket.
He continues to surprise people and perform, Steven Finn discusses James Anderson
Steven Finn feels James Anderson is still a tremendous asset for England, especially at this stage of his career, and that his extensive knowledge will be quite beneficial.
Jimmy is superhuman, he said. People have been awaiting his retirement for almost seven years, but he continues to surprise and perform.
He didn’t have the best summer last year, but knowing him as a person, I know he wouldn’t be doing this unless he believed he could make a difference.
The first Test starts on January 25th in Hyderabad.
The other destinations include Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala.
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