There is an old maxim in sport – “train hard, play easy”. Fundamentally, it means that preparation needs to be much harder than any level of difficulty provided by the actual competitive sporting event a person and team has been preparing for.
England’s comprehensive test match victory over Ireland at Lord’s this past weekend gave Ben Stokes and his team an opportunity to ‘warm up’ for the Ashes and re-connect as a playing group after some players had been away at the Indian Premier League (IPL).
But, whether or not their final preparations have been suitably testing for an upcoming Ashes series, I remain doubtful. A week of team bonding and time spent playing golf may be really helpful to connect people more closely and for the management team to deliver their key messages in an informal environment.
Can such an approach favoured by the current England management team prove to be more beneficial than having players who are more ‘match-tough’ following a series of practice sessions and matches to get the overs in the legs for the bowlers and the feeling of hitting the ball out of the ‘sweet spot’ of the bat on a regular basis?
Stokes Does Not Bat Or Bowl at Lord’s:
Remarkably, Ben Stokes did not face a ball in either innings of the test match v Ireland at Lord’s. Neither did he bowl a ball too! He was England’s ‘non-playing’ captain – with an almost Harry Potter-like influence over proceedings. Stokes became the first test captain in history to win a test match without batting or bowling in the match. It is a record unlikely to be ever beaten!
More worryingly, is the talismanic England captain capable of bowling and being the all-important bowling all rounder that makes the team really tick? Great England teams that have won Ashes series have been underpinned by the performance of all rounders. Sir Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff and moat recently Ben Stokes, have been pivotal cricketers.
I fear Stokes’s batting will be less effective if he is unable to contribute effectively with the ball because I believe that one skill takes the pressure off the other and thus reduces the pressure around the player needing to contribute to the team’s collective output. Stokes might be good enough to be selected as a batsman alone in this England team, probably at number 5, but I think he is at his best as a bowling all rounder at number 6, with Ben Foakes coming in at number 7. As it is, Ben Foakes’ contrasting style will not be available as the gloves have gone to Jonny Bairstow.
The experienced Yorkshireman clearly wants the gloves back after several years watching Jos Buttler and Ben Foakes be given the nod ahead of him. He should be batting in the top 6 to ensure he has maximum opportunity to make a century – but this would mean Stokes bats at 7. I can’t see that happening if Stokes cannot bowl. Surely he can’t pick himself as a number 7 batsman who might bowl?
Confidence-Boosting Runs or Soft Practice?
Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett feasted on bowling that was sub-standard for test cricket, and their sense of belonging in the team will have deepened, but my concern is that ‘soft runs’ are no preparation for much tougher battles which lie ahead.
Fresh Minds and Healthy Bodies:
England’s cricketers may feel physically (and mentally) fresh after some time off since their last test match in Wellington versus New Zealand. Most players have enjoyed a pre-season with their county club and played some county championship cricket to get ‘in nick’ for the international summer.
Feeling fresh (mentally) is a welcome and rare experience in professional sport. The schedule of train, play, travel, can be relentless. A lack of time away from the team environment can create an unwelcome sameness of routine and conversation. Over time, this can cloud a player’s thinking, judgment and reduce a person’s enthusiasm for the activity they most need to be committed to.
The new regime seems to be prioritising rest and recovery. I see this as a healthy approach to being able to produce creative, top performance.
However, if the skills are not in place or are ‘rusty’ then no amount of additional freshness will help.
McCullum’s Way:
Brendan McCullum seems to have a coaching style focused on ‘people management’. He appears to have the courage of his convictions when it comes to encouraging individuals to ‘find their own way’ to prepare and perform. It is refreshing, and in Rob Key, he has a boss who will be supportive of such an approach. Traditionally, it has not been ‘the England way’.
But, for all their remarkable success in winning 12 out of 13 test matches since taking on the leadership responsibilities for the England cricket team, the new approach is about to be tested like never before. An Ashes series and a tour to India in the winter will be a serious examination of the players’ skill and mental fortitude.
Crawley’s Big Summer:
Zak Crawley will feel he missed an opportunity to quieten some of the noise around his ongoing selection at the top of the order. Crawley’s half century was populated with some good quality attacking strokes but also included some luck too, with several inside edges going for boundaries when they could easily have crashed into his stumps. Perhaps this summer will see luck from ‘Mother Cricket’ continue to be on Crawley’s side?
Practice Or Play?
Modern cricketers seem to prefer the ‘best when fresh’ approach to big matches. Rather than play competitively out in ‘the middle’, many prefer to have nets or participate in ‘middle practices’ whereby they have more influence over proceedings. Such an approach can lead to a lack of ‘edge’ because there is no consequence to error. Whereas, in a match, one mistake can end your innings and the time spent watching from the changing room can be described as ‘dead time’. I disagree – I think the jeopardy associated with possible failure enhances the mental preparation for a sportsperson.
Runs in the middle offer a batsman much needed confidence – whoever the opposition. But, if the runs are scored in circumstances that lack the credibility of top level cricket, doubts remain about ‘the health’ of a batsman’s game. When the making of runs comes against high quality, testing opposition, the deeper the satisfaction. Deep, quiet inner confidence is the mental state players like to reach before and during a test series, especially the Ashes.
Joe Root has played very little cricket, and scored very few runs in 2023. Harry Brook endured a lean IPL season except for one significant innings. Ben Stokes has hardly batted or bowled for months on end. Jonny Bairstow has played less than a handful of matches in the past 7 months. This lack of cricket among England’s middle-order may prove to be problematical over the next 7 weeks as the Ashes comes and goes in record time. 5 test matches in 6 weeks is a gruelling schedule – both mentally and physically – for all involved. There will be no time re-discover form outside of the test matches for any player who struggles at the start of this eagerly-awaited 2023 Ashes series.
Australia’s Pre-Ashes Preparation:
Australia’s final preparations involve a far more challenging test match – the ICC World Test Championship versus India at The Oval. Will it prove more helpful to be involved in a hard-fought contest between two evenly-matched teams, or will England’s dominant win over Ireland offer them more in terms of pre-Ashes confidence and the important development of team spirit?
My sense is that Ben stoke sand Brendon McCullum are so committed to believing in their own way of doing things, and the England players seem to thoroughly enjoy being part of ‘the experience’ created by the team’s leaders that I don’t think any level of ‘under-performance’ in the Ashes will be attributed to inferior quality preparation to Australia’s relative match-toughness. Joe Root has openly stated that a period in the IPL has offered him more than a month of playing in the County Championship could have done. He might be right. But, I have my doubts. People can convince themselves of anything if they want to – and people can be in denial after poor performances just to prove that their original choices stacked up.
The Reckoning:
The real scrutiny of England’s new approach to test cricket under Stokes and McCullum is about to be faced. Can a ‘let’s attack and keep being positive’ win the day? Will the relaxed approach to pre-Ashes preparation prove that cricket matches are won by bonding on the golf course and in the freshness of the players’ minds rather than in the nets? I hope so. If not, expect the old-timers like Sir Geoffrey boycott to be out in force and the excitement about England’s new style of cricket to be criticised from a great height.
McCullum will be key to this series. He seems a cool customer. Criticism will fly if/when England lose a test match. He responded to the Lord’s defeat to South Africa last summer with a calm and clear message that the error England made wasn’t in being aggressive, but in not being aggressive enough! One has to admire his ability to play ‘conviction politician’ but can he carry the others in he team with him for the whole of this summer, especially if Stokes is unable to play a full part on the field and play every match in this summer’s series as captain?