An England team previously urged to live in the moment now has permission to switch attention to the Ashes, with the head coach, Brendon McCullum, confident the current “cattle” and strategy represent their best bet for winning back the urn.
In contrast to his playing days, the New Zealander’s default since taking the job last May has been to largely dead-bat any talk of Australia’s tour this summer, preferring that a once ailing Test side focus solely on forging the aggressive identity laid out by himself and the captain, Ben Stokes.
However, no sooner had heart rates dropped from Tuesday’s one-run defeat by his former team at the Basin Reserve – New Zealand halting England’s run of six straight Test wins – McCullum reverted to type: to get on the front foot and swing.
“Now we can really get excited about it,” he said. “We have the opportunity to really start to plot and plan what’s going to be a pretty amazing time in the guys’ lives: an Ashes series at home against a good Australian side.
“We know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m pretty sure we will play a very similar style of cricket that we’ve played throughout the last eight or nine months. And with eight or nine months of development of that style under our belt, we should be hard to beat.
“This team has grown, become more at ease with how we’re playing and more authentic. It certainly does give ourselves the best chance of being able to topple a good Australian side.
“We’re very lucky we’ve got good cattle, so to speak, to pick from and then it’s down to whether Stokesey and I cock it up or not.”
Spreading unbridled confidence has been one of the tenets of McCullum’s time in charge, with the trade-off for the overall desire to play aggressively an acceptance that individual returns will be volatile. Zak Crawley, for example, has averaged 25 at the top of the order during England’s run of 10 wins in 12 Tests.
Asked whether the 25-year-old, fresh from a highest score of 28 in the 1-1 series draw, still retained his support, McCullum said: “Yes, of course he does. Zak is one of these players – and I have said right from the start – who is going to be inconsistent.
“[It is] because of the role he is asked to perform, which is to impose himself on the opposition. You have to have a memory like a sieve if you are going to play as an aggressive opener in Test cricket. You have to suck up the low scores.
“The thing he can’t do is tweak and alter things too much because then you are trying to catch form. Do that and you are leaving it up to the cricketing gods. His attacking game is much stronger than his defensive game so he needs to start from a position of looking to attack rather than looking to defend.
“If he does that, I have no doubt his talent will come out. From my conversations with Ricky Ponting, they respect him for the instinct and power he has and how destructive he can be. He is still a big player for us moving forward.”
Theories abound as to how Jonny Bairstow will slot back into the Test side if he returns to full fitness and form after the broken leg suffered last September. Swap in for Crawley at opener? Restore the gloves to Bairstow in place of Ben Foakes or similarly hand them to Ollie Pope, who performed the role in Pakistan?
Given the variables, plus a one-off Test against Ireland starting on 1 June before the Ashes begins at a sold-out Edgbaston on 16 June, McCullum opted against committing early. “What we can’t do is try and crowbar people in. We need to take stock when the first Test arrives. But one thing we are not afraid to do is be brave in selection. If we think it gives us our best opportunity to win, that will be our mantra throughout.”
Then there is the fitness of Stokes to consider, a seemingly chronic left knee injury limiting his role as a fourth seamer and, during the second Test here, his ability to bat unimpeded. McCullum has no concerns regarding the all-rounder’s forthcoming spell in the Indian Premier League, believing it could serve as an elixir.
“I don’t think he’s jeopardising [the Ashes]. The skipper has a strong mind and he knows how to get right for the big moments. His life is that, right?”
“In fact I look forward to watching him play in the IPL – without captaincy and worrying about everybody else – knowing that when he comes back and leads us into the Ashes campaign, he’ll have the bit between his teeth. I think we’ll be all right.”
