England are “not stupid enough” to chase victory at all costs on the final day of the Edgbaston Test, with assistant coach Marcus Trescothick hinting they would welcome a rare draw against India.
In three years since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as captain and coach, England have become the masters of all-or-nothing cricket and turned the draw into an endangered species.
There has been just one in 37 games since the advent of ‘Bazball’ – a rain-shortened Ashes clash in Manchester – with Stokes going on the record on numerous occasions with his disdain for stalemates.
It would be fantastical for England to harbour realistic ideas of turning their overnight score of 72 for three into a winning score of 608 on Sunday – not mention a world record by the small matter of 190 runs.
Trescothick was careful not to squash the prospect entirely but broke what has become a minor taboo in the camp by recognising that avoiding defeat could be an acceptable result.
“We’re always trying to be as positive as we can, but we all appreciate it’s a hell of a lot of runs to try and score,” he said.
“We need 536 tomorrow…I don’t think we’ve seen scoring rates like that. I don’t think we use that sort of (defensive) language, that’s not the sort of changing room we are. But we are not naive.
“If you get to the point where you can draw the game, of course, we’re not stupid enough to think that you have to just win or lose. There are three results possible in every game that you play.
“This has kind of been built up away from what the changing room messages are. I think there is a perception of what you think goes on in the changing room, but we obviously understand it a little bit more.”
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The levels of faith among England fans have risen so much that the Hollies Stand stood as one to a chorus of “stand up if you still believe”, even after India began dismantling the top order on the fourth evening.
“We were all stood up in the changing room,” Trescothick said with a smile.
“We have done some things in our time. We are different to how we’ve done things before, so we’ll see what happens.”
India surprised many onlookers by setting the target at such an outlandish level, delaying a declaration many felt would come long before Shubman Gill belatedly called time on the innings at 427 for six.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted the timing had been a matter of debate but feels the English appetite for embracing unlikely chases will still remain.
“We did talk about it a lot during the day, I guess if a team does score 500 plus on the final day they deserve to win,” he said.
“Harry Brook said in the media the other day that they’d go at anything we set for them, so I think we’re in for an exciting day.
“Harry is a guy who likes to take the game on and he’s an entertainer. That’s their style. If they’re happy to take it on, that’s great for the game.”
