Winning the toss and choosing to bat were the norm in Kolkata until recently. Regardless of the roller type, soil texture, or overhead circumstances, it is widely understood that the pitch is suitable for hitting until the third day before it starts to favor the bowlers. Generally speaking, risk batting up until the third innings but not the fourth. However, since joining forces in June 2022, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have torn out that page from the pitch preparation guide in England, with mostly positive outcomes: 16 victories, 5 losses, and 1 tie.

After England elected to bowl, seven of those victories followed. England won every one of the five Tests in which they were asked to bowl after losing the toss. Stokes was so certain of this strategy that he won the toss in the Birmingham Test of 2022 and immediately declared "we'll have a chase" rather than "we'll have a bowl." In the fifth day of play, England chased down 378.

The pitches allowed for their freewheeling hitting style, making this a daring yet predictable England. Therefore, one of the two methods to catch England off guard is to win the toss. What India did at Edgbaston is the other—burying them under such a large number of runs that it is impossible for them to chase, as well as for them to grind out a draw, since that is not hardwired into their brains.

Is it enjoyable to see cricket? Of course. Particularly with the introduction of the World Test Championship's scoring system, draws are almost prohibited. And nowadays, when the survival of Test cricket depends on rivalry, it is easily compared to a T20-style slugfest at the bat. The best way to accomplish that is to eliminate the pitch from the equation. As a result, England's top-order batsmen reaped immediate gains: Ollie Pope's average at home increased from 27.25 before McCullum took over to 46.65 now, while Ben Duckett, who was not even in consideration for playing at home prior to June 2022, has an average of 49.72.

Unavoidably, fast bowlers were soon on the receiving end. James Anderson was the only person who pointed out the discrepancy at the 2023 Ashes, saying in his Telegraph column that the Edgbaston surface for the opening Test was "like kryptonite" to him. “There was little swing, no reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce and no pace,” Anderson had said. “I've spent years honing my skills so I can bowl in any conditions, but nothing I've tried has made a difference. I felt like I was waging a losing fight.

Anderson has had more success at Lord's than anybody else, but in the second Test, he struggled to take just two wickets. He then commented, "It is not great viewing when you see the best bowlers in the world slamming it into the middle of the pitch." It's annoying when you've spent 20 years throwing the ball up in an effort to swing it and get it off the deck, and you haven't accomplished anything by doing so.

Two years later, not much has changed. However, in order to provide background, data from the previous two decades was also reviewed. Additionally, it provided some fascinating insights.

Since 2016, the average swing in England has dropped from 1.21 in 2006–15 to 0.96, the average seam has increased from 0.59 to 0.63, and the average score in the fourth innings has jumped from 193 to 201. It should be noted that the majority of these changes have occurred after Ben Stokes publicly called for "fast, flat pitches" after taking over as captain in April 2022. With it went skillful bowling, and in its place came a more daring approach to batting that attempted to击倒 any score. The average score in the fourth innings has skyrocketed during the past ten years in Edgbaston (151 to 196) and Trent Bridge (151 to 189), and, most surprisingly, in Leeds (171 to 321), formerly seen as a safe haven for quick bowlers, while it has declined in Lord's and Old Trafford.

The guiding principle appears to be that in order to create enjoyable cricket – which may not be popular among Test cricket aficionados – you need calm, uninteresting surfaces that don't catch batsmen off guard. These figures demonstrate that England is moving closer to that goal. Due to the lack of grass coverage on the pitch, the Dukes ball in this series is becoming soft around the 30-over mark, which is a side effect of this method. At Edgbaston, Akash Deep was at least hitting the roughs to make the new ball seam, but he too became more or less harmless once it grew old.

Even though India captain Shubman Gill won at Edgbaston, he doesn't agree with giving batters such a broad berth for the whole Test. "If you know there is only 20 overs of any help and then you have to spend the rest of the day on the defensive, thinking how to stop runs, then the game loses its essence," he stated following the victory.

Be ready for more inequality between bat and ball unless the Lord's approach contradicts this story.

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