What can Norwich boss Smith learn from England skipper Ben Stokes?

And with the resumption of Norwich City’s season just around the corner, now may be the time for Dean Smith to channel the spirit of England’s remarkable red-ball resurgence in a last-ditch bid to finally win over the club’s increasingly frustrated fanbase.

I’m fortunate enough to be writing this column from a serene stretch of Pakistani motorway, en route from Lahore to Multan ahead of England’s second Test in the historic city.

England waltzing into the World Cup quarter-finals – the perfect 26th birthday present – injected an additional footballing edge to our visit but, with the second Test, Norwich’s trip to Swansea and the Three Lions’ heavyweight clash with France looming large, attention has now started to turn to more firmly-focused sporting matters.

Understandably, many fans’ enthusiasm for the season restart, particularly on the day of a hotly-anticipated World Cup quarter-final, appears to be waning.

Smith remains in the Carrow Road hotseat, however, and after a three-week break including a warm weather training camp in Tampa Bay, it’s still not too late for his side to start finally firing on all cylinders and keep up the heat on the Championship pacesetters.

Despite sitting fifth in the table and being the league’s third-highest scorers, it’s clear what the majority of fans want to see is a team playing with flair, flamboyance and sustained attacking fluidity, emboldened by an identity to dominate games and play consistently on the front foot.

And in a week when Stokes, McCullum and England’s band of brothers manufactured a cricketing miracle on a Rawalpindi road, there can be no better time to take inspiration when it comes to transforming the views of a disillusioned fanbase and reenergising a misfiring team.

For years, England’s Test side felt as if they were going nowhere, failing to demonstrate any form of batting resilience and so often collapsing in the face of adversity both at home and abroad.

But under the bold new leadership of captain Stokes and head coach McCullum, bolstered by a group of players who so clearly buy into their daring ‘BazBall’ philosophy, they have racked up a staggering seven wins in eight Tests – this team don’t do draws – and, in the process, single-handedly redefined the way in which five-day cricket is played and perceived around the globe.

This is a team who see no boundaries, chasing down a record total to beat India at Edgbaston, blowing away New Zealand and South Africa on home soil and, on Monday, dramatically snatching victory in the first Test against Pakistan thanks to an astonishing piece of captaincy by Stokes.

With the game petering out towards a draw on a dead pitch where taking 20 wickets appeared virtually impossible, Stokes breathed unprecedented new life into the contest by declaring on day four and leaving the hosts with a carrot-dangling 343 to win.

Despite looking well-placed to do so at one stage, some fine short-pitched bowling and a flurry of late wickets scuppered their chances as Stokes masterminded perhaps one of the greatest victories in the history of Test cricket.

So what can Smith, City and – more broadly – all sports teams learn from these daredevil tactics that have helped fire England back on the road to red-ball recovery?

Most importantly, they have given fans a project and cause to believe in, reimagining the way the game is played and doing so with the sort of infectious attitude that all sport lovers adore.

And by adopting such a bold, brave and fearless mentality, supporters have been immediately won over and, therefore, are less inclined to criticise or complain if sometimes – and this will happen – it doesn’t pay off.

At present, City have been coasting through games almost passively and, even when we have come out on top, have done so through individual moments of quality rather than any meaningful passages of positive possession.

So with pressure mounting on Smith with two tricky fixtures – Russell Martin’s Swans and high-flying Blackburn – straight after the World Cup break, it feels as though now may be the time for him to throw caution to the wind, focus on implementing a more identifiable playing style and, just like Stokes and McCullum, give fans an obvious and more appealing cause to believe in.

That’s not to say City need to go totally all guns blazing but, with frustration naturally growing after a bumpy autumn spell, prioritising a pivot towards a more aesthetically-pleasing playing style may be Smith’s only hope of turning the tide against an increasingly toxic fanbase.

The festive period could make or break City’s season but, if Smith can bid to emulate England’s Rawalpindi heroics and probable Multan mayhem, it may not be too late for him to rehabilitate his reputation and mould his team back into the Championship outfit we’re all craving to see.