'Losing sucks' - Execution to blame for England at Edgbaston, not Bazball

"Losing sucks." To some England fans, it might be a relief to hear that. A day before this first Test at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes stated it would not be "the end of the world" if the hosts left Edgbaston one-down. This was not "a results-driven team", even though they had won 11 out of the previous 13. Even an Ashes series would not change any of that.

Now trailing Australia 1-0, there remains plenty of truth to that. Four more Tests and enough from this loss, along with what has been banked over the previous 12 months, can be enough to overturn that scoreline.

But as the England captain sat in his post-match press conference, physically and emotionally drained by the events of a compelling final day, it was clear this was a tough result to swallow. Even with a Kool-Aid mixer, a two-wicket defeat to your arch-rivals tastes just as bitter. It, as Stokes said, sucks.

"I know everyone who came out and supported us, bought a ticket this week, would have loved to see us win," Stokes added. "Everyone who was watching on TV would have loved to see us win.

"We're desperately upset for them that they didn't manage to see England get over the line. If people haven't been on the edge of their seat for this entire Test match, or any situation the game found itself in particular the last hour, I'm not quite sure what will in cricket."

Dismay at defeat and appreciating the thrill of the spectacle are not mutually exclusive. But the manner in which England contributed to the latter directly influenced the former. This match went back and forth, as all the best Tests do, though until the final stand between Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, Australia only had the initiative when England handed it over. Mostly in instalments.

An England side that likes to dangle the carrot ended up presenting the patch. Day one's declaration on 393 for 8 when a modern great in Joe Root is seeing it big on 118 with a capable Ollie Robinson at the other end. The drops of Alex Carey and missed catch when Usman Khawaja had just four - all through to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow - cost 100 runs across both innings. The missed stumping of Cameron Green when on nought allowed him to reach 38 on day two. The 23 no-balls were slack, with one allowing Khawaja to bolster a century from 112 to 141.

Was Bazball the problem? Well, no.

"Not putting the result at the top of everything that we think about actually really helps us go out and play free-spirited cricket," corrected Stokes when asked why this hurt as much as it did.

Not since 2015 has England met Australia's eye line and forced them to blink with defensive fields and a slower pace of play. With talk dominated by how 2005's meeting on this ground played out with a two-run victory the other way, the temptation with hindsight is to peg this instead as the meeting of that series at Lord's. An Australian win with plenty of English encouragement.

The main takeaways for the time being will be around better execution of the brand. A declaration that may already be consigned to infamy could have been regarded as a tactical masterstroke had the four overs on Friday night reaped any reward. At the time, and definitely so now, it looks like an unnecessary risk.

When set on a turgid pitch, Root and Harry Brook were right to attack Lyon in the second innings. But there were better options than charging a delivery that was too short and cross-batting one too full.

Bairstow's run-a-ball 78 in the first innings vindicated the part of his selection that would always be vindicated. Yet he ultimately finished in arrears because of the errors behind the stumps. The calculation of his selection as the keeper-batter ahead of Ben Foakes was sound. Alas, the variables proved too volatile.

Moeen Ali's recall out of retirement was exactly as he and history told you it would be: three pearlers - two accounting for number-three ranked batter Travis Head - amid full tosses, long hops and, at the end of it all, a reopened wound on his right index finger. The low floor of the spinning allrounder is well-known, but his ceiling as a red ball off-spinner is apparently lower than ever.

Perhaps most galling was limiting Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith to 35 runs across the match and still finishing second. All the plans, all the effort, and intricacies involved in reducing two of the leading Test batters in the world to bit parts, seemingly for nothing. It was a microcosm of the game. England set up the chess board, enacted various openings and took key pieces, only for Australia to beat them with checkers.

There have only been three defeats under head coach Brendon McCullum out of 14 Tests, but at this juncture, it's worth considering the nourishing qualities they've had on the victors. A by-product of this sliding-doors cricket has seen England act as matchmaker for others to have their own dates with destiny.

South Africa lived it up at Lord's last summer, replicating the celebrations after their first success there in 1994 by draping their country's flag over the away dressing room balcony. Blackcaps wicketkeeper Tom Blundell had the honour of organising the now traditional limo for the bowlers up Mount Victoria to watch the sunrise after victory in Wellington. The customary champagne and cigars will have tasted better after a hellacious one-run win.

Cummins now ranks this match at number one as his best-ever Test, a week after winning the World Test Championship Final no less. And as his squad lauded it up in the changing rooms as they did in 2019, with the odd player drifting onto the deserted outfield to call loved ones just waking up to the news back home, an already confident touring party will strut into the remainder of the series a little taller.

How this all plays out in the court of public opinion will be another matter. A home Ashes audience is as public as you can get, and as much as cricket is glad for the eyes, it is an inconvenience for believers how easily digestible the match-losing moments were.

The home dressing room, however, remains a haven of ideology. There were no nerves to speak of in the morning. The rains that delayed the start until 2:15pm allowed England to arrive at the ground at a more leisurely 9:50am. They killed time with card games, crosswords and even the odd nap. No anxiety around the seven wickets required against Australia's need for 174 more runs. Just anticipation of another great day to come.

Well after the 7:20pm finish, as they sat in the dressing room, overhearing Australia's jubilation, belief in the process is said to remain strong, even if egos and spirits have been bruised. They have the next five days off to compute the loss before reconvening in London for the second Test next week. The message from Stokes was clear - this still works, even in defeat.

"The conversation in the dressing room there at the end, even some of our support staff, their kids want England shirts now," said Stokes. "I had a message from my neighbour saying his son was playing cricket on the weekend and he did what England would do in his situation.

"But don't get me wrong in what I've said there. Losing sucks. We always want to win."

Now trailing 1-0, they have to.