Ben Stokes will set his team free at the start of his reign as England Test captain after addressing the scars of the past.
A bruising and difficult winter in Australia and West Indies will have left a mark on several players, but Stokes is determined to wipe the slate clean and remind them it is OK to fail. There will be no hairdryer treatment nor smashing of tea cups if New Zealand get off to a flyer at Lord’s and England are three down in the first hour.
Instead he has promised the first group of players who will follow him out on to the Lord’s turf this week that they have his support for the long term.
Stokes said: “I just want everyone to feel free under my captaincy. But it is actually a lot harder to make people believe that. It’s something I’ve thought really hard about. How am I going to make these guys believe? I honestly don’t think we can do that until we start playing. It’s all good saying it in the dressing room, but it’s the reaction we give, especially when things don’t go right, that will set the guys on to believing in the way that we’re playing.
“There are going to be scars in everybody – Australia, West Indies and everything before that. I didn’t hide away from that. We have to acknowledge that before we can move on, is one of the first things I said when I addressed the team on Monday.” Both Stokes and new head coach Brendon McCullum are inspirational figures and both have relentlessly positive outlooks. And it is clear that they are trying to translate that message to their team at the start of the summer to build their confidence.
Stokes added to the BBC : “Everyone is very clear what me and Brendon see as the way for this team to progress, but it won’t happen overnight. We’ve got to be very clever and sensible about how we handle things and the language we use if things don’t go well. Brendon has been good and he is all about making everyone feel, in his words, ‘ten feet tall.’”
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Meanwhile, New Zealand captain claimed he does not expect his troublesome left elbow, which forced him to miss their last five Tests, to cause him any issues as he returns to lead the Black Caps in a Test match for the first time in six months. Williamson said: "It's significantly improved, which is the pleasing thing. Obviously having that time out of the game was beneficial to get it back on track somewhat. Although it was a very frustrating period of grappling with it, it is nice to be back into full training and back into cricket really, which is really exciting, and back with the team after watching them on the sidelines for a little bit. So that is nice to see that improvement.
New Zealand will make a late call on whether left-arm paceman Trent Boult is selected after he linked up with the Kiwis on Monday following the conclusion of the Indian Premier League. Williamson added: "He needs to get through training. Obviously he's just arrived. He's keen as, but there's a number of things to consider. Trent is obviously a world-class player and we've got a great variety in our bowling attack. So, we'll be having a look at the surface and working out what we want to go with, and that balance, and who's all ready to go. Most are, but obviously Trent's one to look at today."
