Ben Stokes has won 20 of his 32 Tests since becoming England captain in 2022
England v India – first Test
Venue: Headingley Dates: 20-24 June Time: 11:00 BST
Coverage: Ball-by-ball radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds. In-play video clips and text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. Today at the Test on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two each night.
This is, in every sense, it.
Bazball. Pensioning off James Anderson. Ben Stokes' knee. Ben Stokes' hamstring. The Raid of Rawalpindi and the Heist of Hyderabad. One run in Wellington. The moral Ashes and enough rounds of golf to forge a major champion.
All leading to this.
Ten Tests – five against India now and five against Australia in the winter – the difference between this England team being remembered as ideological entertainers, glorious winners, or both.
Stokes, the captain, has a place in history assured. Further success between now and January would strengthen his claim as England's greatest cricketer of all time. Coach Brendon McCullum could quit today and still go down as the man that resuscitated the England team. Now he has the opportunity to take some of the biggest prizes back to his stables in New Zealand.
There is every chance both are still in charge this time next year – McCullum is contracted until 2027 anyway – but also an alternative outcome that sees the end of both. In the story arc we have reached the Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, the finale of which will determine the appetite for a Cursed Child stage show.
Talk of a "defining period" will not seep into the dressing room. Stokes famously told Jofra Archer "today doesn't define you" before he bowled the super over in the 2019 World Cup final. On a human level, how many of us would want to be judged on a six-month period at work?
"I don't tend to worry myself about what other people are going to say about what I've done as a captain at the end of it," said Stokes.
"Since I've done this role I've done it wholeheartedly and thrown everything I possibly have into doing it, both on the field and off the field. That's all I can really control. The results will be the results and hopefully we'll have more in favour than not."
Pope, Bumrah, Bashir – how England v India will be won and lost
'Woakes return more important than ever to England'
England dropping Pope would be 'remarkable' – Stokes
Still, there is an inescapable truth that some parts of professional sport are more important than others. Some days, matches and series are bigger. The series against India, starting in sun-kissed Leeds on Friday, is bigger.
It is an English cricketing disease to look at everything in the context of the Ashes. Contests against Australia tend to cement legacies, shape futures and create the longest memories.
The best way for England to arrive in Perth in November in the strongest possible shape is to defeat India, though even framing it like that feels disrespectful to the biggest cricketing juggernaut on the planet.
England and Australia may have a longer shared history, but India are in a league of their own in terms of power, attention and scrutiny. Their presence in this country over the next seven weeks, free of competing for oxygen with Premier League football, is a headline act in the sporting summer.
England are a very good Test team, though probably not quite as good as they should be. They have won four and lost four of their past eight matches. Three of those defeats, by Sri Lanka at The Oval, Pakistan in Rawalpindi and New Zealand in Hamilton, were incredibly loose performances.
It is the sloppiness that frustrates supporters, made all the more infuriating by the knowledge of how good England can be at their best.
Recent messaging – Stokes and McCullum talking about their team being "smarter" – suggests England have listened and learned. Time will tell.
This video can not be played
'It would be remarkable to choose someone over Pope'
In terms of personnel, Ollie Pope v Jacob Bethell was the biggest conversation around an England number three since Ashley Cole left Arsenal for Chelsea. Stokes claimed it was never in doubt he would stick with Pope, so now Pope has to repay the faith.
The home side's fast bowling is down to the bare bones and a potential area of weakness in what could be superb batting conditions. Reinforcements are hopefully on the way. Gus Atkinson trained on Wednesday and Archer is set to play for Sussex on Sunday, the latest stage in England's yearn for his return like Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot.
Typically, the spotlight may again fall on Stokes. For all of the effort the all-rounder has put into being fit to bowl, England probably need his runs more than his overs.
Stokes has not made a Test hundred since the near-miracle against Australia at Lord's in 2023, averaging below 30 in the process. He has batted only once in any kind of professional cricket in seven months. Headingley, for obvious reasons, might be the place to spark inspiration.
How does new captain Gill compare to India batting greats?
Win in England bigger than IPL – India captain Gill
Nair's long road back to India team, via Northampton
For once, Stokes is not the biggest box-office draw. India's Jasprit Bumrah is the leading cricketer on the planet right now, compiling a career that will stack up against any fast bowler to have played the game. How England survive his staccato approach and educated fingers will go a long way to deciding the series.
Every spell from Bumrah – and he may only play three Tests – will be must-watch, just like the middle-order pyrotechnics of India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. England spinner Shoaib Bashir will have to hold his nerve when Pant attempts to hit him out of Yorkshire.
Bumrah and Pant are familiar faces in an unfamiliar India side, led for the first time by Shubman Gill. After the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, India are evolving, albeit with no shortage of talent from their vast reserves.
The absence of Kohli in particular means there is a little less stardust, though not necessarily a diminished chance of India success. Kohli's returns in Test cricket had gradually dropped up to his retirement last month and the jury is out on whether India are weaker without him. They never won a series in this country with him in the team.
It is that difficulty for visiting teams to win here – India have not done so since 2007 – that has England starting as favourites to complete the first part of what would be an epic double.
For all of the highs of the Stokes-McCullum regime – and there have been plenty – they are still to tick off victory in a marquee five-Test series.
A comparison can be made to a decade ago, when England last held simultaneous sway over India and Australia. Back then, their cricket under coach Andy Flower was notoriously dry, the dressing room mentality rarely shifting from siege. Yet, they were winners.
This England team can have it all. The entertainment, the glory, even the golf.
For the Old Trafford rain and Stuart Broad's bails. For Jonny Bairstow's runs and Jonny Bairstow's broken leg. For Moeen Ali's finger and Ollie Robinson's podcast. For Dan Lawrence opening the batting and 823-7 in Multan. For Joe Root's records and Mark Wood's rockets. For Bazball.
This is it.
Get cricket news sent straight to your phone
Comments can not be loaded
To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser
Man City fined £1m for repeatedly delaying kick-off
'This is it – time for England to be winners'
Real forward Mbappe in hospital
Hugh Bonneville stars in returning drama, The Gold
Why do we get bored, and can it be beaten?
The man who unknowingly became a reality TV star in Japan
A doctor who rebuilt the faces of World War One soldiers
More than 400,000 empty seats at Club World Cup so far
Napoli 'smell blood' & target Premier League's discarded stars
The mind behind cricket's Hundred on his 'Prem' relaunch
'Judged on one night' – the cost of defeat in boxing
Gambling and social media abuse of women in sport – what is going on?
How a mountain changed Wales' mindset as they seek Euro highs
Pope, Bumrah, Bashir – how England v India will be won and lost
Premier League fixtures – find out your club's schedule
What can we expect in the WSL transfer window?
5 Live Sport: All About… Audio
'Hope you get cancer' – Boulter shares her online abuse with BBC
'Horrifying' – BBC Sport's Croft on online abuse in tennis. Video
'The tumult in the Ingebrigtsen fairytale was never far from the surface'
Le Mans win proves injury doubters wrong – Kubica
F1 Q&A: Should McLaren have allowed Norris to pass team-mate Piastri?
Nair's long road back to India team, via Northampton
Man City start new era – but how might Guardiola's side look?
In Pictures: Sporting photos of the week
Chelsea play in front of 50,000 empty seats – apathy or bad scheduling?
'What's eating Rory?' – will US Open prove reset point for McIlroy?
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
England vs India: Why Test series is the time for England to win under Ben Stokes & Brendon McCullum – BBC
Related articles
