Darren Gough blog: Stokes is challenging Botham as England's GOAT

Ahead of day one of the fourth Test between England and India at Old Trafford on Wednesday, Ladbrokes ambassador Darren Gough previews all the action.

This India-England Test has been a cracker, full of excitement, full of drama and a little bit of needle as well. That's what Test cricket should be about!

It's not going over the top, but I think there's just been enough to make it exciting for the viewers and the listeners.

I went for 3-2 before the series started. After three Tests, we’re sitting at England 2-1. But let's be honest – it could easily be 3-0 India. That's how daft it's been.

All the stats tell you India's bowlers are the top wicket-takers, the batters are the top run-scorers. But England somehow pulled off a great victory at Headingley in a great Test match, chasing that 371. India came back strong without Jasprit Bumrah in the side when Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj bowled beautifully in that Test match. And then in the third Test, when it looked like India were going to chase down a relatively small total, Ben Stokes turned into Superman.

And Stokes’ legacy is just continuing to build, and he’s getting closer and closer to the great Sir Ian Botham as the greatest-ever English all-rounder. Truly magnificent.

When I look at this series now, with England leading 2-1, I'm over the moon because my tip of 3-2 to England is still on.

But like I said, it could easily have been 3-0 to India. You look at the stats – especially the bowling stats – and I think India's bowlers have got better averages and taken more wickets.

The top wicket-taker in the series is Siraj – he was my tip to be India’s top wicket-taker. He's got 13, while Bumrah has 12 and Akash Deep has 11 in only two games each. They have been excellent.

For England, the best bowler has been Stokes. What more could you expect? He’s been truly magnificent coming back into Test cricket after a break.

Josh Tongue has knocked over the lower order – I'm not knocking that at all because it's a huge, huge thing to do that. They can put on some serious partnerships. He's taken 11 wickets in his two Test matches.

And on the batting, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are the top two run-scorers. Jamie Smith has been truly magnificent for England, and KL Rahul has, again, been assured. He's still a high-quality player at the top, and he's been getting runs as well.

We need to see more runs from Zak Crawley. Everybody's waiting for that big score. He's got the talent, but the pressure is on him now to deliver. I don't think they’re going to make that change, so he's going to be England’s opener in the Ashes no matter what happens these next two Test matches.

I think they've made the mind up on that, and Ollie Pope could do with another good score just to cement his place because you've got Jacob Bethell in the background, waiting for his opportunity, and everybody wants to see him in the side.

So the pressure is always going to be on there, and that's a good thing because it makes England perform and want to perform.

You expect a spicy Test series when England play against Australia, but this England-India series has been a blinder in that regard, hasn't it?!

We've seen some pointing fingers, we've seen some sledging and we've seen some good humour from both teams. Everybody's been at it from behind the stumps.

It's been great to see. I don't think it's crossed the line, and it's made for great viewing. And I think it's going to carry on because the series is on the line.

But you've got to stay cool under pressure. Gill had a poor Test match, as far as he's concerned, with the runs he’s scored in this series. He's been truly magnificent, especially at Edgbaston, but in the last Test match, the captain outdid him on all fronts. So it will be interesting to see how India come back in this Test match and what sort of sledging goes on from them.

We know Siraj likes a word. That's where he makes himself better. Jimmy Anderson was a very similar type of bowler who used to sledge himself more than the opposition because it made him bowl better. So it'll be interesting to see what happens in Manchester.

One of the turning points for this England side was getting Jofra Archer back, which adds serious pace in the side.

Can you imagine if we get to the Ashes and we have Archer and Mark Wood at their peak fitness, bowling at 95 miles per hour. That would be a sight to see.

We're not going to see it in this series, but we’ll see Archer again. They might have been tempted to rest him at Old Trafford and save him for the Oval, but I think with England on the verge of a series win, it’s right to play Archer now and then you can rest him.

I think with Liam Dawson coming back in for Shoaib Bashir – unfortunate for Bashir, who's not bowled badly – makes England stronger with bat and ball and in the field. So Dawson coming in has actually made England stronger.

As for India, I think Bumrah has to play with the series on the line. I know they've got other injuries in their bowling and batting lineups, so they’ll be making a few changes. But the biggest question for them is, do they bring another spinner into the team? If I were them, I would.

View the latest cricket odds.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.