England in New Zealand: Judgement day for Bazball is upon us
In Christchurch, the city of his birth, Stokes is born again. Physically fit and back to his ebullient self.
As usual, he politely fends off suggestions that this is a homecoming – “I’m English” – though concedes it is special to be surrounded by so many members of his family.
Merivale Papanui, the club where a young Stokes played his earliest cricket, is about a 15-minute drive from Hagley Oval. And Stokes has been to see his namesake, a horse owned by McCullum, finish third at Riccarton Park.
As Stokes spoke on Tuesday, he was bullish in his explanation of England’s latest rabbit out of the hat, the selection of Jacob Bethell to bat at number three.
Aged 21, the left-hander won’t be the youngest England debutant to bat at number three in a Test. That distinction goes to Rehan Ahmed, who wandered out as the nighthawk as an 18-year-old in Karachi two years ago. At least Ahmed had a first-class hundred to his name.
“We do know what we’re doing,” said Stokes, who acknowledged his team will be judged on results. Still, he went back to a favourite mantra of being “all about the process”.
Right now, the process is coming into question. There is so much to be said for England’s relaxed attitude. Ben Duckett has discovered a career that otherwise looked dead, newbies like Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith have thrived.
But Test cricket is also about details. Some of the best England teams of the recent past – ones led by Duncan Fletcher and Michael Vaughan, and again by Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss – were attentive to the small things that the current team overlook.
After the Shoaib Bashir visa row in India, no-one checked Ahmed’s was fit for multiple entries and he almost didn’t get back into the country. In the summer, England asked middle-order batter Dan Lawrence to open and dropped him when he failed. They still don’t have a reserve opener.
It was ludicrous to come to New Zealand with three frontline spinners and no back-up keeper, yet England have been left disorientated by the injury to Jordan Cox. Durham’s Ollie Robinson is due to come as cover once he gets his passport renewed – another example of disorganisation.
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