NASSER HUSSAIN: You can’t applaud Ben Stokes boldness and then complain if they lose

Not too long ago, people waking up in the UK to find that England had lost a Test by one run would have been looking for a scapegoat.

But the overwhelming feeling the morning after the thriller in Wellington was that we had all witnessed something special.

Yes, the results are important. Ultimately, it is what a team and a captain are judged by. He was the type of captain who wins at all costs, and I still feel the pain of a game or two that got away from us during my time in charge.

But the thing about this England team is they’ve been getting the results. Only an excellent New Zealand backline in his second innings at Basin Reserve prevented a clean sweep in all five Winter Tests.

From time to time, of course, the way England play Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes will leave the door open for the opposition, either declaring eight down in the early innings or enforcing the follow-on with plenty of time left in the game.

Ben Stokes came within a step of leading England to a famous Test victory over New Zealand.

New Zealand players celebrate their victory over England in the fifth test in Wellington

But you can’t have it both ways. One cannot applaud Stokes’ audacity, on the one hand, as many did after he called his team at 4:35 to 8 in the morning, and then complain after they lost by a hair. If England score two more runs, Stokes is a genius. That’s the way he is right now, and 10 wins out of 12 tells you he’s working.

Indeed, without the mentality that allowed Stokes to declare early, or put New Zealand back on, we would not have seen this fantastic turnaround. There’s a bigger picture here, and McCullum and Stokes play fair for seeing it. When they took over as coach and captain, they left their marker early.

They could easily have wavered or gotten defensive. But they never have. Even after losing to South Africa at Lord’s, McCullum’s main takeaway was that England should have gone harder.

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ rapprochement against New Zealand almost paid off with a win

It reminds me of Eoin Morgan’s approach in the early days of their cue ball revolution in 2015. From time to time, England slipped up and were told by critics to hold back a bit. But Morgan silenced the noise and told his team to move on. The only area I am concerned about is the skipper’s knee.

The truth is that I have been worried about it for a long time, and this winter Stokes has had to be smart when it comes to taking care of it. Eventually, he’ll just be a hitter/captain, which is fine: he’d still make any team.

But it upsets the side’s balance, and with the Ashes closing in, he needs to be in constant communication with ECB medical staff while on the IPL. England need Stokes as their all-around option this summer, and if that means playing for the Chennai Super Kings as a specialist batsman, so be it.

You’ve seen the big picture when it comes to making Test cricket exciting. I just hope he takes care of that knee in India in the coming weeks, because England’s Ashes’ hopes could depend on it.