Even by his standards, Ben Stokes has had a difficult week. The England Test captain and his team are back to work when the second match of the series against South Africa begins on Thursday. This comes after he bared his soul before the release of his new documentary, detailing the panic episodes he continues to manage.
The difficulty is great. Dean Elgar’s assault blazed to a 1-0 lead at Lord’s, with Kagiso Rabada taking five wickets in the first innings and Anrich Nortje delivering some of the quickest spells seen from a visitor in recent memory. Old Trafford’s typical bounce necessitated Ollie Robinson’s comeback to the England XI, and Elgar predicts they will “improve significantly” this week.
In this regard, the spotlight returns to England’s batting order, one in which they have maintained faith, and Brendon McCullum’s prognosis that they must “go harder” than at Lord’s. Stokes has attempted to embrace this ethos throughout the summer, emerging at No. 6 in a mood that has been tense, bordering on reckless, and producing cameos rather than innings of substance.
Stokes is not ignorant of the value of playing the long game at times. In Cape Town in early 2020, when England leveled a series they went on to win, he handed his player of the match award to Dom Sibley – the medal going back and forth between kit bags until the opener finally relented – after an eight-hour unbeaten 133 that, to borrow a line from Mike Selvey, was as tenacious as an egg sandwich on a windswept beach.
During the most remarkable Test innings of his career, an unbroken 134 at Headingley in 2019, Stokes was infamously three not out from 73 balls before firing the afterburners. Even against Worcestershire this summer, when a County Championship record 17 sixes were hit over 88 balls, he was pleased to get 12 runs from his first 30 balls.
But much like McCullum – a head coach who, it is often forgotten, once scored an unbeaten Test triple century over 13 hours – Stokes believes he is playing the long game differently; that by consistently attempting to flip pressure back on to the bowlers at the earliest opportunity, he is setting a standard for the project as a whole.
After rain cut short his squad’s final training session, Stokes remarked, “I know when I perform well, it’s great for the team.” As the leader, I would never ask my team to do something I wouldn’t do myself if that makes sense.
“I’m sure there will come a time when things will need to calm down a bit, but at the moment, I feel a great duty to be the guy driving home the message, with people watching and thinking, ‘he’s able to do that in a difficult position.’
“I don’t want to give the impression that we’re not concerned about our performance. Last week, I stated that it was third on the list, but that is incorrect. We cherish victory. I enjoy winning. I dislike losing, therefore I don’t want to send conflicting signals that it’s okay if we lose, since obviously, it’s not. But it is concurrently.”
One part of the environment Stokes and McCullum are attempting to create prioritizes process over results; hence, their need for loyalty. They are also attempting to maintain a calm atmosphere by playing an eclectic soundtrack during net sessions. This week’s playlist included Whole Again by Atomic Kitten and Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver, which were not on the Hundred’s playlist.
It appears that McCullum’s taste predates even Jimmy Anderson’s Test career, as the 40-year-old returns to Old Trafford where his name is on one of the ends. When India canceled the match here last year, there were fears that Anderson may never play a Test on his home ground again, but here he is, to paraphrase a Denver song, back where he belongs.
Even so, Stokes jokingly referred to Anderson and Broad as “dinosaurs.” This was said alongside a compliment regarding their adapting to the team’s new ways, but this week, after being out bowled at Lord’s by their opponents, some of the old magic would be welcome. Regarding his contributions with the ball, Stokes downplayed the knee injury that has caused him to grimace over the summer.
South Africa’s batting lineup appears frail, even though they posted a match-winning total of 326 all out, and although England cannot win the pace race in this series, the return of Robinson — a bowler whose skills are unquestionable – poses a new challenge to their strategies.
Elgar was characteristically straightforward when he stated, “It doesn’t affect the way I want us to play the game.” And I am in no way intimidated by it.
In the background of this second Test are the final stages of the English cricket high performance review, which could result in a significant reshaping of the domestic landscape. When asked if he had been consulted, Stokes responded that he had yet to open the email in his inbox.
Stokes explained simply, “I have this Test match to worry about,” before ensuring he will have his say. Given a week of earth-shattering personal disclosures, that angry left knee, and the necessity to move back to focusing on South Africa’s outstanding assault, the delay in responding is certainly understandable.
