Ben Stokes 'better than I ever thought' as England Test captain, says Rob Key

Jonny Bairstow (right) has been one of the players to flourish under Stokes (left) with four hundreds in his past three Tests

Director of cricket Rob Key says Ben Stokes has been "better than I ever thought" he would be as England's Test captain.

It comes after Stokes and new coach Brendon McCullum, both Key appointees, implemented a new, attacking approach.

"I never thought it would work like this," Key said.

"There will be times when it won't work, but for now it's been fantastic to see."

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Key himself took over in April with England on a run of one win in 17 Tests.

The turnaround since Stokes and McCullum took charge has been instant.

England have aggressively chased down fourth-innings targets in excess of 270 in all four of their Tests, including their record chase of 378 against India, leading to their new approach being nicknamed 'Bazball' in the media.

"I'm not mad on Bazball the phrase," Key told BBC Test Match Special.

"It's not something I particularly enjoy because it devalues what Ben and Brendon have done.

"They've been so premediated almost and methodical in the way they've spoken to people and that's what's made the difference and let them get to this point which is so much more than, 'oh, we're just going to go out there and look to be positive and play a few shots'.

"Brendon will at times on purpose say to one of the players like Ollie Pope "I can't get to the ground, give us a lift" and that's when he's doing his work with them.

"There have been all these moments when they have made sure that they've used the right terminology and that's what's bred the confidence."

Former New Zealand captain McCullum was appointed despite having never coached a first-class team.

"I saw it as though I had two choices," Key said.

"Did the England team, the Test team in particular, need someone who was going to be like a drill sergeant, a real hard taskmaster who's going to be really tough on them and try and drive them in that way?

"I felt they needed someone to just take the pressure off them a little bit.

"I wanted someone who, with the talented players that we had, just freed them up a bit and got them out there to be the best players they possibly can be."

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