Last night in central London, England’s entire Test squad, plus members of the backroom team and a few white-ball specialists and former players, gathered to spend close to two hours looking at their captain.
Ben Stokes and the Oscar-winning filmmaker Sam Mendes hosted a premiere screening of their documentary about the England captain, which is out on Amazon Prime on Friday.
The squad attended before decamping this morning to Manchester for Thursday’s Second Test against South Africa. England’s cricketers hold Stokes in the highest regard, but they will have learnt plenty more about him across those 105 minutes and it is hard to believe any with have left their viewer of the skipper remotely dimmed.
At just 31, his has already been an extraordinary life of ups and downs. It will be interesting to see, over the coming weeks and months, whether he is able to extract just a little more from his players now they have seen him laid bare.
Stokes’ film tells us a bit about his leadership style: the “run towards the danger” mindset that has become a cliche in recent years, the caring soul beyond the tough exterior, and most of all the loyalty.
There are England players benefiting from that now. The attention is on the openers, mainly Zak Crawley, who has not reached fifty in seven Tests but has his tyres pumped by the management constantly and does not appear that likely to be dropped before the summer is out, whatever his struggles.
In the same way England talk about Crawley being a match winner, Ben Foakes is regularly referred to by Stokes as “the best wicketkeeper in the world”. He is probably right. The cliche goes that a wicketkeeper is like an umpire: they are doing their job when you do not notice them. These days, though, the way a keeper tends to get noticed is when they are not scoring runs.
Foakes, having made a decent start to the summer, has seen his season go quiet, in part due to factors completely beyond his control. In England’s first two wins of the summer, Foakes played quietly crucial hands in two chases, alongside Joe Root then Stokes, with only a long tail behind him. He also made an excellent half-century in Nottingham before being run out.
In Leeds, Foakes was ruled out midway through the Test by Covid, although not before he had recorded his first duck in international cricket. Despite testing negative, he still was not right for Edgbaston, with Sam Billings taking his place and doing a solid job. He played in three Surrey wins in July, but arrived at Lord’s with no cricket in three weeks and, while he kept beautifully, made six and nought, unable to stick around in either of England’s collapses. He looked a little overawed by South Africa’s pace.
That leaves Foakes with a Test average of 26.9, which drops to 20.9 this year. Few doubt his class — and he averages 81 for Surrey this year, and 39 overall. When Foakes is unable to stick around, England’s tail — which is not getting any shorter any time soon — is exposed
England selection issues
The openers
England’s opening pair has been a problem since Andrew Strauss retired a decade a go. Alex Lees and Zak Crawley have had their moments, and put on a 107 just two Tests ago. But both average in the mid-20s and Crawley, particularly, is playing for his future.
The keeper
Ben Foakes did not quite nail down his place in the West Indies in March, but started the summer with important contributions with the bat. Since, he has had two quiet Tests, although he kept well at Lord’s. Question marks against high pace.
The seamers
Stuart Broad and Matt Potts have played all five Tests this summer. Neither was quite on it at Lord’s, which could mean England turn to Ollie Robinson. He was excellent last summer and is fit again. His accuracy would be an asset.
Jonny Bairstow will never give up hope of keeping wicket for England, but that ambition appears on the back burner right now. Jos Buttler’s Test career looks to have been ended as much by England’s white-ball schedule as his own shortcomings, which leaves Billings the likeliest rival. He is a solid keeper and decent bat with leadership qualities.
England know that when they get to Pakistan in December, they cannot afford to miss chances in the field because, on pitches as flat as Australia experienced earlier this year, another may not come along for hours. Foakes is their best hope of creating a half-chance, especially as the spinners toil away. The surfaces should suit his steady brand of accumulation with the bat, too.
Foakes will almost certainly still have the job in Pakistan due to Stokes’ loyalty but, before they get there, they would love another big contribution with the bat.
