England rekindle the joy after Bazball's year of transition
Crushing loss in Hamilton cannot dent celebration of series win, ahead of blockbuster 2025
Vithushan Ehantharajah18-Dec-2024Two blokes walk into a pub in Hamilton.One is wearing Ben Stokes’ batting gloves, having donned them for the 10-minute scooter ride from Seddon Park, where he had obtained them from England’s Test captain. The other is wearing Brydon Carse’s Test jumper – a surprisingly good fit considering he was giving up about a foot in height to the Durham seamer.Punters revelling in freshly-acquired souvenirs felt like an sound allegory for the journey this England team has embarked upon in 2024. Their joint-busiest year of Test cricket has provided room for a regeneration. Of the 24 players have been used, seven had the honour of wearing that kit for the very first time.Each has seized their chance in different ways across a variety of roles. Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Carse have made themselves immediate first-teamers. Jacob Bethell’s assuredness over the last month has brought on a pleasing headache. Shoaib Bashir, for all his pluck, remains a work in progress.The new year offers more bucketlist moments for a new-look team, with India at home and Australia away. For those at the opposite end of the spectrum, 2025 promises to be a legacy year. Defining for the project Stokes and Brendon McCullum have embarked upon together. Legend-lifting for Joe Root. Status-deciding for Harry Brook. “Get a ticket early,” urged McCullum, as much to supporters as the cricketers desperate to be in the mix for those blockbuster events.Shoaib Bashir benefitted from Stokes’ empathetic captaincy in India, but that trait was misplaced in Pakistan•Joe Allison/Getty ImagesGetting excited about all that can wait. On Tuesday, much like those two punters, England were celebrating. It did not take them long to shed the frustration of a 423-run defeat in the third Test. Coolers of drinks made their way onto the field not long after the broadcast cameras were switched off. A first series win in New Zealand since 2008 was toasted, before morphing into a celebration of Tim Southee’s retirement. Both teams mingled late into the day, before everyone piled into the home dressing room. Games were played – namely “Zimmy Zimmy”, a staple of university students, essentially ‘pass the parcel’ based on rhythm and numbers – before goodbyes were said.Such geniality between these two teams is nothing new, of course. Nor is an England team’s affinity with the gorgeous vistas and range of outdoor activities (not just golf) this country provides. But while the extra-curricular parts of 2023’s New Zealand tour felt like a bit of a lads holiday – camaraderie high on the agenda ahead of that summer’s Ashes – this was more of a spa retreat.A Queenstown base to start, the odd course along the way, and encouraging players to take the scenic route from Wellington to Hamilton to enjoy the best of what the North Island has to offer after establishing an unassailable 2-0 lead in Wellington. England achieved the primary objective of this trip, but they also ticked off a secondary: de-stressing from a wearying 12 months.The 4-1 loss in India at the start of the year crushed a few older souls, the 2-1 loss to Pakistan on the other side of the home summer tested newer spirits. It was during the former that Stokes realised the team needed more dynamism. And as much as that would come from a refresh, his return as a functional allrounder would be integral to that.Fast forward to Pakistan and Stokes’ obsession to get back to the “old him” had reached untenable levels. By his own admission, he had “ruined” himself by ramping up his own training levels after a left hamstring tear in August had wiped out the hard work of the previous six months.Brydon Carse has inked himself into England’s first XI after some thrilling displays as the third seamer•Getty ImagesHe was tetchy, off the pace as captain and, worst of all, had lost the empathetic perspective that had been a vital crutch for his leadership. A trait all the more important given the number of players new to the environment.Stokes has been able to rediscover his emotional equilibrium on this trip. He came out to Christchurch ahead of time to surprise his family, many of whom, including his mother Deb, were in attendance at Hagley Oval for pretty much every ball of the first Test. Time with loved ones has perhaps brought a reminder for perspective. Reflections of his captaincy came in the weeks following the Pakistan series, and subtle changes have been made. Even with the recurrence of his hamstring injury, the 33-year-old seems to be in a much healthier place.Perhaps the most interesting strand of 2024 to tug at is the other side of the personnel transition. Punting on young “unproven” talents is the easy bit. The hard part has been moving on the established ones.James Anderson was the highest profile example of this. A necessary parting of ways, conducted via an uneasy hotel meeting, meant that Stokes, McCullum and managing director Rob Key came with a good deal of heat from all corners (including the man himself, of course). The silver lining for Anderson is, much like Southee this week, he got closure. The others have not been quite so lucky.Related
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Jonny Bairstow was parked after notching 100 caps at Dharamsala in February. The 2022 Bazball poster boy will enter the new year as a dead weight on the central contract list until October, without any clarity on whether his international future is actually over. Similarly, Ben Foakes sat out the last six months of his deal as Smith came in to offer the best parts of both keeper-batters.Ollie Robinson, once regarded as a vital cog in the Anderson-Broad succession plan, has also not been seen since that tour, He is unlikely to feature again under the current regime, as much through losing the trust of McCullum and Stokes as the emergence of Atkinson.Even serial reserve batter Dan Lawrence seems to have run his race after underperforming as a fill-in opener in the Sri Lanka series when Zak Crawley broke his finger. It was a thankless task in an unfamiliar role – both of which Bethell has excelled in the last month.Ollie Pope finishes 2024 with his place in jeopardy despite launching it with a hall-of-fame innings in Hyderabad•Getty ImagesIndeed Bethell has now brought a further awkward conversation around Ollie Pope. A man who started the year with a star-turn in the heist of Hyderabad now finds himself at a peculiar juncture in his international career.England’s vice-captain is a team man in a team of team men. His initial play for the No.3 spot was a way of getting into the XI, but as his stint has gone on, there has been a growing sense his presence in the role has been for the benefit of others. It allows Root to remain at four, and Brook at five. Just as importantly, Pope’s average remains above 40 in that position.But Pope’s selflessness is also why he now finds himself in a conundrum. There was no surprise when he took the hit of moving down the order to No.6 for this series, so that he could keep following the injury to Jordan Cox. Stokes in particular lauded him for doing what was best for the team. But the vacancy allowed Bethell to state an all-too-attractive case.It is a case that does not have to be answered for a good few months, given England’s next Test is not until May. But it is remarkable to think a player who began 2024 with a hall-of-fame innings and went on to captain four Tests in the middle is now ending it with such uncertainty.Alas, that is international sport. And the growing pains of a revamp are these necessary evils – tough decisions that, in the case of Pope, might seem contrary to the team’s promoted values of backing players unequivocally, ridding them of fear and rewarding their loyalty.Therein lies the main takeaway from this year. The results read nine wins and eight defeats, but majority of the year post-India has been about revitalization and amending the broad brushstrokes of the first two years.Stokes and the England team might not like the word “ruthless”, but there is no better word to describe the mentality they will need to adopt as 2024 comes to a close. With India and Australia on the horizon, 2025 will be about winning at all costs.