Bazball Bend? England coach says hosts can play for draw at 5 of the Edgbaston Test at 5

England batting coach Marcus Trescothick has hinted at the possibility of shifting gears towards survival mode as the hosts ended Day 4 of the second Test against India in deep trouble.

Chasing a monumental 608 for victory at Edgbaston, England were 72 for 3 at stumps, with Ollie Pope (24*) and Harry Brook (15*) left to face the Indian attack on what promises to be a tense final day. The equation is simple: India need seven wickets to draw the series, England need to save them to draw the Edgbaston Test.

New goalpost for Bazball?

The Stokes-McCullum era has so far been synonymous with fearless fourth-innings chases—12 wins while chasing since June 2022 with zero draws. However, Trescothick admitted that playing for a draw is not off the table in this instance. No matter how aggressive England are but to chase down over 500 runs in 90 overs can make you look stupid too.

“I think that whenever the situation is challenging, of course it is. I think, if you get to the point where you can draw the game, of course. We’re not stupid enough to understand that, you have to just win or lose, there are 3 results possible in every game that you play,” Trescothick said at the press conference.