Ben Stokes is buzzing as he prepares for the first of 10 Tests which will define both his and Bazball's legacy as captain embarks on his quest to become England's greatest ever leader

Here we go: 10 Tests against the world's two most powerful cricket nations, 10 Tests that will define the legacy of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, and the legitimacy of Bazball. No pressure, guys, but you're about to embark on the most important seven months of your careers.
Between Friday's series opener against India at Headingley and the Ashes finale at Sydney in January, legends will be written, pedestals reconfigured and pantheons polished. The hope is they will mainly be English.
Win both series, and Stokes — already in possession of the best victory percentage among major England captains since Douglas Jardine — will go down as their greatest leader.
Win against India but lose in Australia, and the jury will remain out. Lose both, and the verdict will be damning. It would be hard, then, to imagine McCullum seeing out his contract until 2027. The stakes really are that high.
And while Stokes did his best on the eve of the first of two seismic five-match series to play down the significance of it all, that felt like a characteristic attempt to shield his team from the outside noise that England regard as so unhelpful. But this is big — and he knows it.
Despite criticism of the Bazballers, the Test team's fortunes have been transformed since he and McCullum joined forces three years ago.
Even excluding one-off wins against Ireland and Zimbabwe, they have won six series out of 10 and drawn two, including the 2023 Ashes when Manchester rain deprived them of the chance to beat Australia.
It is a strong record that, for some, is overshadowed by the brainfades and meltdowns — enforcing the follow-on against New Zealand at Wellington in 2023, the hook-happy collapse against Australia at Lord's later that year after off-spinner Nathan Lyon had hobbled off, Joe Root's reverse-ramp against Jasprit Bumrah at Rajkot, the general ineptitude against Pakistan's spinners over the winter.
But Stokes, determined to live in the present, refuses to indulge perspectives involving the future or the past.
'There's always a different buzz coming up against India and Australia,' he said. 'We know what these series mean away from the dressing room. We do understand that. But I can only control what I can control.
'I obviously want results to go our way. But defining a career as England captain isn't something I sit there and think about. Because if that's what I'm really bothered about, then in my opinion it's just completely and utterly selfish — and that ain't me.'
The Ashes don't begin until November 21 in Perth, but English cricket's obsession with beating Australia means they will recur as a subplot during a gruelling six-and-a-half-week series against India, and Stokes is wise to keep a lid on the hype.
Because if England don't beat an India side who have lost six of their last eight Tests, slipped to fourth in the rankings and are led by a rookie 25-year-old captain in Shubman Gill, then their year could unravel horribly.
Asked, instead, whether England might try to 'scramble' Gill's mind with the aggressive style that has brought them a run-rate of 4.63 in the Bazball era — more than a run an over clear of anyone else — Stokes replied: 'I don't know. Hopefully we find ourselves in a position where he might scramble his own mind.'
In contrast, India come into the Test at Headingley having lost six of their last eight matches
England's preference for focusing on their own game, however, will be tested to the full by the unique brilliance of Bumrah, who may play only three Tests as India monitor the state of his back but could play four if circumstances dictate.
He took 19 wickets at 16 apiece when the sides last met, in India early last year, and has dismissed Root nine times.
His gentle trot to the wicket belies a wickedly fast arm action, and his unusual body shape means he delivers the ball from about 19 yards.
Against Australia over the winter, he took 32 wickets at 13, a hall-of-fame effort in a losing cause. And while Bumrah tops the ICC rankings, the highest-placed England bowler in this Test — with Gus Atkinson, in 13th, nursing a hamstring tweak — will be Chris Woakes, who is 20th. Next is Brydon Carse, in 40th.
'Everyone will say that going out and facing someone with a quirky, awkward action can take you a couple of balls to get used to everything, with your timings and trigger,' said Stokes. 'It's not a traditional action that you see in a bowling manual.'
As for the predictable choice at No 3 of Ollie Pope, fresh from a big hundred against Zimbabwe, over Jacob Bethell, Stokes swatted aside the suggestion it counted as a 'big selection'.
He added: 'It would be remarkable to choose someone else if their last knock was 171, and that's pretty much all I need to say on that.'
Above all, England will seek to finesse the style that has brought them 23 wins, 12 defeats and that Manchester draw since Stokes took over in 2022.
India will be spear-headed in the attack by Jasprit Bumrah, who took Joe Root's wicket nine times when the two last met early last year
Results against India and Australia have a higher currency than any others. And much though Stokes dislikes the set-up of the World Test Championship, he knows England will have to finish above at least one of them if they are to qualify for their first final, in 2027.
'It's about adapting better when we're up against the wall,' he said. 'When those moments come in the series, and they no doubt will, it's about identifying them a lot quicker, gritting our teeth and asking ourselves what is it we need to do to wrestle the momentum back.
'When we are on top of teams, we are very good, but where we maybe have let ourselves down over the last three years is when we have been behind the game.'
That admission alone feels like progress. But it has been said that every Test match England play feels like a referendum on Bazball, and not until the votes are finally counted in January will we know where we stand.

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Beth Mead urges England to feed off the pressure of European title defence

South Wales Guardian

28 minutes ago

South Wales Guardian

Beth Mead urges England to feed off the pressure of European title defence

The Lionesses squad travelling to Switzerland this summer is very different from the one that lifted the trophy on home soil at Euro 2022. Seven members of Sarina Wiegman's group have never played in a major tournament and England will be defending a major title for the first time. 'There's a little bit of pressure that comes with it but I think it's a free adrenaline injection, pump it into your veins,' said forward Mead, who won the Golden Boot after scoring six goals at the 2022 Euros, where she was also named player of the tournament. Two weeks to go until we begin our #WEURO2025 journey 💫 — Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 21, 2025 'We've been there, we've done it, we need to bottle that energy up and (bring) what we brought last time. It's a completely different tournament and teams look very different but we know what we're about and we've got to concentrate on being the best version of ourselves.' England face Jamaica in a Leicester send-off on June 29 before travelling to their Switzerland base in Zurich. They kick off their title defence against France on July 5, then take on 2017 champions the Netherlands. The group stage concludes in St Gallen against Wales, who have qualified for the first major tournament in their history. Mead is relieved team-building activities this time around have not included a camping trip – a memorable Lionesses excursion under Phil Neville in 2019. Training is hotting up! 🌡️🏃‍♀️ — Lionesses (@Lionesses) June 20, 2025 'I think I slept two hours and then (got woken up) by the geese around the complex,' Mead recalls. 'That wasn't my favourite team-building activity. I think Toni Duggan snuck back into the hotel for the night instead.' The group did host a movie night at their last camp – the thriller Sinners, starring Bournemouth minority owner Michael B Jordan – and this time opted for a graffiti painting session to, Mead notes, 'express yourself' and 'show how bad we all are at art'. Much has also changed in Mead's personal and professional life since lifting the trophy in 2022 – her mother, June, died from ovarian cancer the following winter, shortly after Mead was named Sports Personality of the Year. This year, she lifted the Champions League trophy alongside her Arsenal team-mates for the first time. 'I feel like I'm in a good place individually,' Mead added. 'I know I've got an amazing team around me. I've got very good connections with players in the team. 'All I can do is do my best. We can all only do our best and take our chances when we're given them. 'I'd like to think I've got quite a good amount of experience to head into the tournament and I've played against a lot of the teams that we're going to come up against and hopefully that experience can help within the game. 'But I'm excited. I'm a little bit older than I was last time, but it doesn't take the excitement away and it still feels like a first tournament even though I've obviously been very lucky to go to quite a few. 'This is a new challenge, new competition, very different teams. I can't wait to get started.'