“There’s been a bit of chaos,” England coach Brendon McCullum said with a forced smile and a tone of grim understatement after a week that all involved would wish to forget. As in politics, seven days can be a long time in cricket but one can scarcely remember a situation quite as mundane yet manic, rumbling on as it has in the time since a midnight curfew was broken in the hours that followed England’s first Test victory at Lord’s.
To think that the mid-tour retirement of New Zealand’s greatest ever batter has been rendered a mere footnote – if he were seeking to avoid undue fuss or favour, then Kane Williamson has once again displayed an intuitive sense of timing.
At least his future is, now, clear; for Ben Stokes and England, whatever water is yet to flow under the bridge is rather muddier. To hear McCullum speak with such emotion and earnestness about his absent, aberrant captain ahead of this Test was reflective of the concern that the coach felt for his skipper and, perhaps, the fact that this sorry saga could spell the end of the all-rounder’s time in England whites. Nobody seems quite sure when and in what role Stokes will be back, with the disciplinary process related to his and Gus Atkinson’s breach ongoing, but clearly there is a hope that some time out of the spotlight will serve him well.
One might variously describe the pair’s actions as a misstep, misdemeanour or misdeed when taken in the context of the six months that had preceded it. McCullum was clearly hurt by a sense of having been let down. It was, at times, uncomfortable listening to him repeatedly express his concern for Stokes.
It is worth remembering that this hierarchy had been exceptionally fortunate to survive the Ashes; this situation only brings renewed scrutiny on the environment he, Stokes and Rob Key have cultivated.
This is almost entirely a mess of England’s own making. The very reason they are without their captain this week, and beyond, is because of a curfew imposed in large part due to the behaviour of his deputy, Harry Brook. That such a limit is in place for a professional sports team recognises that it has not been functioning as it should. It was pointed out to McCullum on Monday that there are now as many as six England players who have been embroiled in alcohol-related incidents since last November.
“It is unbelievably frustrating because you are trying to build an environment where guys take the right options,” the head coach said by way of a defence. “I take responsibility for all things that don’t work out, but what you can’t do is make every decision for everybody. But guys are not always going to get it right. Every negative action has a large reaction which follows. And I’d like us to start understanding that well before we make decisions that put the environment in jeopardy.”
The thin veneer over a coarse winter that the Lord’s win had provided has been stripped away quickly. England had shown enough in that success to suggest their promised shift in style on the pitch and recognition of a need to do things differently.
But the ramifications of the Stokes and Atkinson situation are significant. Not least, as it happens, in selection, where a knee injury to Ollie Robinson and the impending arrival of Jamie Smith’s second child have provided further headaches in the wake of a heavy night.
Step into this uncomfortable breach Joe Root, England’s man for a crisis and wartime consigliere for this Test at least. The Yorkshireman will be sore to stand in as captain in this scenario, particularly given how close he is to the regular skipper and how liberated he has seemed in the four years since a record stint in charge.
But, true to type, up he will step with a smile and calm head, even if he didn’t expect to be here. “I never thought I’d be sat here talking to you guys as England captain again,” Root admitted in his pre-match press conference. “Zero chance… 0.1 per cent.”
Key knows the value of Root’s reliability. “Every time you’re 10 for 2, Joe Root is the man that gets England out of a hole, and he’s doing that again for us,” he suggested. “Yet again, Joe Root doesn’t question anything when you ask him to do something.”
That he may be burdened, too, by a few more spin overs than usual is an unfortunate byproduct of Stokes’s absence unbalancing the side. The eschewing of a specialist tweaker is the preferred strategy of Surrey at their home ground, but a seam attack that includes a debutant in Sonny Baker and the returning Jofra Archer may have to shoulder a heavy load on a surface unlikely to provide the sort of assistance enjoyed last week.
Concerns over a lengthy tail necessitate a batter at No 7; Jordan Cox’s run-a-ball double hundred on his County Championship return was a timely reminder of the qualities that this England environment has long liked.
Should Mr and Mrs Smith’s new arrival rule the wicketkeeper out, then James Rew would be a third debutant in an already callow side that also includes a brace of second-cappers in seamer Matt Fisher and opener Emilio Gay. Part of the challenge Root and McCullum face is ensuring that an environment under fire can still liberate the new faces to play their own way, such a strength of this side in the good times – and perhaps necessary if they are to secure a series that now feels like one they have to win.
“How do you allow them to get to the start line feeling calm, confident and ready to go?” McCullum pondered, admitting that the scrutiny had heightened again. “Emilio Gay did that brilliantly last week. It’s the same sort of messaging to the guys this week. There is extra pressure that comes with playing for your country – and particularly for England, and in particular this week. That is why I was very happy with the calmness I saw in the dressing room.”
After all that has happened, there will be a sense of relief when the cricket actually resumes. New Zealand may feel that, too, having been short of their usual standard and now shorn of the figure that defined it for a decade and a half. Williamson’s retirement, which came gradually and then suddenly, hints at an evolution that has been coming for an ageing team. “It’s always tough when probably our greatest player calls time,” Rachin Ravindra remarked.
“We were all so supportive of his decision. We all share responsibility within our batting unit. It’s not on one guy; it’s pretty hard to fill in that gap, and unfortunately I don’t think many people can. So it will be a collective effort.”
They may sense renewed opportunity after a week that has changed the complexion of this series.
