Stokes’s potential is through the roof, gushes Morgan

“We did it in our own way” – Eoin Morgan.

The England way of relentless attack is not for the weak hearted. The risks associated with batting purely on instinct and shedding the traditional approach are plenty. Morgan himself conceded that the England way can “look a little bit reckless at times and put us in some sticky situations”.

Morgan was in one such ‘sticky situation’ on Saturday when England was reduced to 35 for 3 in its chase of 278 against Australia. With rain stopping play for 42 minutes, Morgan had plenty of time to choose which way he wanted to go – the new England way, or the not-so-new way.

What happened after the break made it clear that England wasn’t going back to the other side of the fence. It was an approach England has so carefully built over the last two years, and it was not going to change that, not with its place in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 semi-finals already guaranteed.

“We just talked about how we were going to go about it. It was important to get some sort of a partnership going and how we were going to negate Australia's bowling,” explained Morgan after the game. “They bowled really well up front. They asked a lot of questions and then got the ball moving. We felt that, I suppose, the positive way was the best way. And we spoke about how we were going to go about it a little bit differently, but it managed to work. We did it in our own way.”

Ben Stokes and Morgan went on to add 159 off 157 balls from there, taking the game away from Australia with some clinical hitting. Stokes went on to make a century, but it was Morgan who set the tone with a couple of boundaries off Mitchell Starc immediately after the rain break.

Even at 6 for 2, when he walked in, Morgan had the same approach, dancing down the track to Josh Hazlewood. He nearly succumbed to the approach when Matthew Wade dropped him on 12, but the risks wouldn’t change Morgan’s way of tackling those situations.

“I think so,” he said when asked if attack was the best option. “Personally, for me, you have to earn the right for guys to make mistakes with the ball. So I did what I do, and obviously, Ben's very naturally aggressive and finds attacking quite easy.”

The key here is that England doesn’t consider it a ‘counter-attack’. The batsmen don’t do it to shift the momentum back to the opponents, or to put them off track.

“I don't think it was a counter-attack. It's just our natural way in the middle order,” Stokes told ICC after the game. “We always look to take the positive option whether in attack or defence. There was always pressure. But the fear thing – we don't think about too much. It just sums up our team at the movement and the way we're moving forward with our positive intent and we always on to be on the front foot.”

To have intent is one thing, but to execute that consistently is quite another. Morgan said the time spent at Indian Premier League, particularly for Stokes, helped the two with the execution on the day. That Stokes managed to do that – especially after conceding 61 from eight overs with the ball – pleased his captain.

“His potential is through the roof,” said Morgan of Stokes. “I think he bowled four overs in his first spell, and then I went back to him at the end with two of the hardest overs to bowl, sums him up. He took it on his shoulders. He did it at the IPL. He did it really well.

“His batting was exceptional. Very calm at the crease, very relaxed. All those games he's played really came to the fore today. He was outstanding. He's always looking to influence the game – bat, ball, or even in the field. That attitude in itself – a lot of guys with potential like that, when things aren't going your way, go back into a corner. But that's not Ben.”

The Stokes-Morgan show means England is now the only side with victories in all its group matches. Two more displays of the ‘England way’, and it could have their first ever ICC Champions Trophy title.

“I certainly think so,” said Morgan. “Game on game, we've grown in confidence, certainly with our bowling. Our bowling unit is looking on form. The last two games, we've proved that we can peg sides back regardless of where they're at going into the last 15 overs of the game, which was normally, probably three, two years ago, a bit of a car crash for us. So that's a huge improvement. And our batting just seems to strive.

“Beating a side like Australia in a game where we've nothing to gain is a big step forward for us because we beat one of the better sides around the world. And if we're being serious about competing in future tournaments, we need to win games of cricket like this.”

One of the other stars of England’s win over Australia was Adil Rashid. Both Rashid and Mark Wood returned four-fors to thwarts the Australians pretty much each time they looking like breaking loose, and Morgan said of his leg-spinner: “I think he had a really tough time in India, and that was highlighted quite a lot, particularly with the red ball. We understand where he's at and where we want him to be at, and then managing that around a difficult period is important because he needs to be in a head space where he can learn from situations like that. A lot of people go to India as a spinner or a young spinner and don't come back from it. But from where he was there to where he is now – a completely different bowler because he has learned from playing against some of the best on some of the flattest wickets in the world.”