England cricket fans can buckle up for thrilling ride of a bold new era under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum

England may have won the second Test against New Zealand and with it the series but that will seem almost incidental to a match that defied cricketing gravity.

From Jonny Bairstow’s 77-ball hundred on the final afternoon to the free entry that ensured a full house on an epic last day at Trent Bridge, the old rules of Test cricket were torn up and cast asunder.

Under that orthodoxy, teams posting 553 in their first innings, as New Zealand did, should not lose. Nor should teams chase down 299 in 72 overs on a last-day pitch as England did (they actually managed it in 50), their task compounded by a rare Joe Root failure.

But under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, devotees of an ultra-aggressive approach to sport, this team has found belief in itself and in playing a high-octane brand of cricket which will produce thrills but also spills. So buckle up for a ride which is likely to be as exciting as it is bumpy.

It is how Eoin Morgan got England’s white-ball teams to play their cricket these past six years with conspicuous success, including winning a World Cup.

Whether the philosophy and methods can simply be transplanted into the red-ball team remains to be seen. Test cricket is more complex and requires consistency across a wide spectrum of conditions to get you to the top.

What isn’t in doubt is McCullum is the common denominator; Morgan having been heavily influenced by him when the pair played together for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

Talk of a bold, new approach is one thing but it was made flesh by Bairstow at Trent Bridge on Tuesday. For many of those present, some perhaps seeing Test cricket for the first time, nothing again is likely to match the blitzkrieg they witnessed immediately