Ben Stokes intends to "create a legacy" with his new approach to Test cricket, and the captain of England's entertainers was further inspired by facing India's Rishabh Pant.
Since Stokes was named captain and Brendon McCullum head coach, England have won four consecutive Tests in thrilling fashion.
Across a 3-0 series whitewash of New Zealand and the delayed fifth Test against India, in which they secured a series draw, England chased down scores of more than 275 runs in every match.
Stokes' side were ultimately dominant against India, winning by seven wickets despite requiring 378 in the fourth innings – the highest target they have ever successfully pursued.
An unbroken partnership of 269 between Joe Root (142 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (114 no) completed the job, with the pair scaling new heights.
Root now has 11 Test centuries since the start of 2021 and continues to improve, "which I thought was impossible", Stokes said, referring to his former skipper as "a freak".
But the exciting 'Bazball' tactics of the past month have not been restricted to just those two players, with Stokes confirming Stuart Broad had been padded up on day four to go in as a "nighthawk", rather than a nightwatchman.
His aim? "Thirty off 10 or nought off one."
And Stokes also saw evidence of the future of Test cricket in the India batting line-up, as Pant scored 146 off 111 in the first innings. His wicket, the England captain said, was every bit as key as the Root-Bairstow partnership.
"He is someone who would fit very well in our team at the moment, Rishabh, the way that he goes about to play the game," Stokes said.
"That wicket was huge for us because we know what he can do. We know how he likes to play the game, and he could really have taken it away from us in real quick time."
Later, discussing the "legacy" he and McCullum hope to forge, Stokes again turned his focus to Pant's performance.
"Rishabh Pant's innings for India in the first innings was obviously against us, but I absolutely loved watching it," he said. "Being on the receiving end of something like that is just is incredible to watch.
"And it's great to see now that someone like Rishabh, who's obviously received his criticism over the years, is now getting applauded for that.
"The more we see players like that succeed in the way that they want to do, I think the negativity around that type of way of Test cricket will eventually die out, because it's so exciting to watch.
"Cricket is an entertainment business at the end of the day. Yes, you want results and stuff like that, but you want people to enjoy watching a spectacle.
"Test cricket has always been a spectacle, but it's about doing it differently now. So cheers, Rishabh."
Root surpasses Cook to become England's all-time leading Test run scorer
Joe Root has become England's record run scorer in Tests, overtaking Alastair Cook.
Root broke Cook's record of 12,472 runs when he moved onto 71 against Pakistan with a sublime drive for four.
That moved Root onto 12,473 runs, making him England's outright leading scorer in Test cricket.
The former Test captain, who made his debut in December 2012, has played 147 matches in the longest format, batting in 268 innings in total. He has been not out on 22 occasions.
His high score is 254, which came against Pakistan.
By the time he hit his record-breaking boundary, Root had plundered 34 centuries, 65 half-centuries and struck 1,349 fours and 44 sixes. He has been dismissed for a duck 12 times.
He has scored more runs against India (2,846) than against any other team, with Australia (2,428) his next favourite opponent. Root's high score in 55 innings against India is 218.
In comparison, Cook ended his illustrious career with a Test average of 45.35 and a high score of 294, which came against India, who he scored 4,431 runs against in total.
However, Australia were Cook's favourite team to bat against when it came to run scoring – he tallied up 2,493 against them, albeit his highest average came against West Indies (57.96 – 1,739 runs scored total in 35 innings).
Cook, who hit just 11 sixes but struck 1,442 fours, batted for 291 innings across 161 matches, and has gone unbeaten on 16 occasions. His strike rate was 46.95, while he hit 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries. He was only dismissed for a duck nine times.
Jack Grealish believes he should have been in England's Euro 2024 squad
Jack Grealish thinks that he should have been part of England's Euro 2024 squad.
Grealish was initially called up for the Three Lions' 33-man training squad, but was one of seven players who did not make the final squad for Germany.
England reached the final, losing 2-1 to Spain.
The 29-year-old has been back in the fold under interim manager Lee Carsley, and impressed in September's Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
"I will be honest with you, I didn’t really agree with it," Grealish told BBC Radio 5 Live of Gareth Southgate's decision not to include him among the final 26 players.
"You need a bit of a balance in every position on the pitch and I class myself [as] quite an experienced player now.
"I have won a lot of stuff now so, you asked me should I have gone, yes, I still think I should have, but obviously it wasn't meant to be."
Grealish started just 10 league matches for Manchester City in the 2023-24 season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
While he admitted that he "didn’t have the best season" domestically, he was left "devastated" by his omission and said that missing out on Euro 2024 was "probably the most difficult period of my life".
Grealish scored in England's 2-0 victory over Ireland in Dublin last month, and will be hoping for more of the same against Greece and Finland in the coming week.
Asked if he felt he had a point to prove, Grealish made it clear that he wanted to show people what England were missing at Euro 2024.
"Of course, I wanted to come here and train well and play well," he said.
"I thank Lee Carsley for giving me that chance and having that trust in me.
"It obviously really meant a lot. I think throughout my career when I have played under managers who have shown trust in me and communicated with me the way he has the last two camps, it really helps me.
"It makes me feel that the manager really does rate me and I can't speak highly enough of him since I have been here."
Palmer named England's Men's Player of the Year
Cole Palmer has been named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24.
Chelsea star Palmer came off the bench to score in the Euro 2024 final, although England ultimately lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin.
Palmer has only nine caps to his name, and just two starts for the Three Lions, but he finished ahead of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in the public vote.
The 22-year-old made his debut in a 2-0 win over Malta in November of last year, and has scored two international goals, including that strike against Spain in July.
Palmer is the first Chelsea player to scoop the award since Ashley Cole in 2010.
Since he joined Chelsea from Manchester City last season, Palmer has directly contributed to 44 league goals (28 goals, 16 assists).
Of players to feature in Europe's top five leagues, his England team-mate Harry Kane has provided more goal contributions (53 - 41 goals, 12 assists) in that time.
Earlier this season, Palmer became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match when he scored all of Chelsea's goals in a 4-2 win over Brighton.
Palmer is expected to feature when England take on Greece in the Nations League on Thursday.
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