Strap yourselves in. Because Ben Stokes is out to create a Test team that plays and thinks like he does.
And for anyone who has seen Stokes in full flow in the Test arena, this promises to be a thrilling and potentially successful prospect. Unfortunately for Stokes, his ability as a cricketer is pretty hard to find, but his selfless approach - the one that had no burning desire to be captain - is what he wants to see replicated by a group of players that puts the team’s needs way above their own.
“I want everybody to be selfless in the decisions they make,” said Stokes. “And make sure every decision they make in a match is with the intention to win the game for England. “It’s always been my main goal playing for England to think about what I need to do to win this game when I have the responsibility on my shoulders, whatever stage of the game it is. “That’s always been my main priority. Personal milestones and individual performances have never been at the top of my priority list.
“It’s always been about the end result of the game which is winning. So I’d love to have 10 people with the same mentality as me and aren't going to take a backwards step.”
It is easy therefore to see why recent results have stung Stokes as much as they have. One win in 17 is not a record to be proud of. It is why he is happy to stick to the straightforward principle of picking the best team available for each game, something England patently didn’t do when leaving James Anderson and Stuart Broad at home for the recent tour of the Caribbean.
There will be plenty of opportunity for the likes of Saqib Mahmood and maybe even Durham team-mate Brydon Carse to force their way into the reckoning, but they will need to do it on merit. “I think if we're completely realistic, winning one game in 17 is nowhere near good enough for the people we have in our team,” Stokes added. “But there's only one way to go from here, which is up.
“I can’t expect it to just click, things don’t happen overnight, but I’m excited about the role I’ve got to play in hopefully making the England Test team great again.”
Stokes has already made one tactical decision, to move himself back to No.6, and he will have to think about where Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root now fit into the order. It will help if whoever signs up as head coach can provide key strategic support with great attention to detail, taking some of the strain off the field.
Stokes has come a long way from the volatile man who had a night to forget in Bristol in 2017, and he has learnt too from other difficult moments in his life such as losing his late father Ged, to reach this point. He added: “I’d have never pictured sitting at a table speaking as England captain, but I’ve always tried to see every experience as something to learn from.
“There has been plenty that could have chewed me up, swallowed me up and that’s me done. I never let that happen. I guess I’m too stubborn to let anything get too on top of me.”
