Test cricket is perennially “sexy”, McCullum and Stokes promise to make it sexier

England’s Baz-ball era has kickstarted with a 3-0 clean sweep of current World Test Championship holders New Zealand, and with it Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes might’ve just sown early seeds of a revolutionised modern form of Test cricket.
 By Roshan Gede Updated: Jun 28, 2022, 19:47 IST
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England had won just one of their 17 Tests in the build up to the series.

Exhibit A:  "So I say what about mid-on back and he says, ‘nope!’”

A cheerful Jack Leach, in conversation with the host broadcasters, talked through Ben Stokes’ aggressive approach and the team environment built up with trust and self-belief, after having completed his twin five-wicket hauls in Headingley - the first English spinner to achieve the feat at home since Derek Underwood’s 5/20 and 8/51 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 1974.

This three-match Test series, presenting some of the most thrilling bits of Test cricket, had to reach its culmination in Leeds - the place for epics - from Bradman’s 334 to Verity’s 10/10, and Botham’s ‘81 to Stokes’ 2019. It’s known for its absurdities too, the costly misses and at times, hits. Ask Herschelle Gibbs and Nathan Lyon. If they turn away, ping Steve Waugh and Stokes!

Daryl Mitchell middled pretty much every ball throughout the series - the best ever for a New Zealander in terms of aggregate - but he’d hate to remember the one he did from the non-striker’s end on Day 1 of the third Test. However, as Nasser Hussain would point out on air, the dismissal was more a product of Stokes’ aggressive ploy to tempt a release shot in the final over of the session than Henry Nicholls misfortune.

Exhibit B: "Literally, there wasn't anything said, just 'good luck and enjoy'."

Jonny Bairstow responded instantly when asked of Brendon McCullum’s words of encouragement when England stood at 91/6 (from 55/6) in response to New Zealand’s 329 at the Tea break on Day 2.

They’d end the day at 264/6, and subsequently take a 31-run lead next morning, with Bairstow smashing England’s seventh fastest Test ton a week after he’d stroked the second quickest in a breathtaking display at Trent Bridge. Debutant Craig Overton almost matched WG Grace in an enviable record, while Stuart Broad’s onslaught against Trent Boult, who’d rattled the top-order the previous day, was no footnote.

It was this refreshing, intentful and uncomplicated clarity that England needed after having won just one of their last 17 Tests in build-up to the 2022 home summer. They were sweating over their opening combinations and bowling at the tail among other challenges - perhaps still are - but a changed mindset has done enough to overshadow the shortcomings.

As the cliche goes, Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. No other format throws them up as brilliantly as the longest version does. The range? From Lara’s 400* to Laker’s 19. The weird role-reversal extremities? Border’s 7/46 including the wickets of Richards, Richardson and Hooper, to Jason Gillespie’ 201* and Tino Best’s 95. That’s just a couple of elements from a bounteous collection.

England have kickstarted the 2022 summer knocking off three successive run-chases of 277 or more - a first of its kind sequence in Test cricket’s 145-year-old history - at a ridiculously monotonous audacity to hand the current World Test Championship holders a 3-0 clean sweep. 

The catalyst to it all is McCullum, or “William Wallace”, as Ben Foakes puts it, changing the gloveman and the team’s perspective towards Test cricket in an attempt to make it a template of and for the times.

“I think the game's been around for 100 years and it's been amazing, but society's different now,” McCullum told SENZ Radio last week.

"Society 
 it wants things [to be] more instant, it wants things quicker and Test cricket maybe isn't as significant in some countries as it once was. So, for us, it's a matter of trying to ensure that Test cricket's still sexy and people want to watch it.”

You can’t have enough of reading all of the above repeatedly, especially if Test cricket captivates you with its irresistibly charming vagaries. The first keyword is “still”, depicting McCullum’s respect and admiration for the sport he played at the highest level for 15 years. 

The second - “sexy” - and we wonder if it needed stating. But what has transpired over the last few weeks suggest that McCullum (and Stokes) have their own definition, and are keen to rub that on the England team and the format as a whole. Witnessing it all, all we can ask for is to keep it coming.

McCullum knows a thing or two about inspiring teams and generations. He led New Zealand’s rise from the lows of Cape Town 2013 for the Blackcaps to rediscover themselves as a much respected and accomplished side over the last decade. Eoin Morgan, his dearest friend, would be motivated to bring about a refreshing brand of white-ball cricket, thereby setting a benchmark which would’ve been least expected from England before the 2015 home summer. 

Morgan now bows out of international cricket with a World Cup win to his name, and would’ve had one for the shortest version too, if not for (you “remember the name!”). His legacy and its brilliance will live on, as was evident in Amstelveen earlier this month.

The McCullum-Stokes alliance or the Baz-ball era could be even more significant and revolutionary.

In times we’re spoiled with an abundance of slam-bang and fast-tracked brand of cricket, a Test match seemingly going nowhere in terms of result or too lopsidedly in favour of the home side threatens to bring about a bit of dullness. Thanks to the introduction of the World Test Championship - which adds further to the context of every game - and the immense self-belief the modern cricketer possesses, we are now witnessing the extraordinary gain frequency.

There were times when a 300-plus target situation in a Test match was inevitably designed for just two of the three results possible. Certainly, there’s been a paradigm shift.

Five of Test cricket’s top-51 successful run-chases have come since 2020, seven in the last decade and 21 overall since the first T20I was played. Somehow, monumental fourth innings run-chases seem possible against all odds in the toughest format. Rishabh Pant showed that at The Oval in 2018 and in the 2021 New Year’s Test, before succeeding at The Gabba. Stokes and Kusal Perera pulled off the seemingly impossible within a space of seven months, three years ago, while Kyle Mayers made it all look far too easy in February. Bairstow has made us shake our heads in disbelief, so too has Joe Root with his imperious run and those breathtaking reverse-scoops.

Ben Stokes’ England - fair putting it that way just after three Tests - could be the torchbearers with the brand of cricket they’ve showcased thus far. 

The Baz-ball method doesn’t guarantee results, 55/6 could be a thrill-a-minute theatre till 360 and beyond on one day, and end at 70 all-out on another. The captain’s dismissal in the first innings makes for a horribly unpleasant viewing if we remain fully bound with the traditional style of play. The classical and the hard grinds would inevitably continue to ensure that Test cricket doesn’t lose its ethos, but a somewhat changed approach from characters designed for it makes it even more exciting, and overcomes the fear of it being “endangered” among a section of society McCullum talks about, as the doubts over its future keep resurfacing.

Stokes, with all his counter attacking shows, has entered the 100 sixes club in Tests of which Adam Gilchirst was the first to become a part, to be joined by McCullum later. The way the England captain is going about his business, it could be just a matter of a Test, maybe an innings, a session, or perhaps even an hour that he surpasses his coach on that front.

But don’t let that and England's ultra-aggressive approach overshadow the various key ingredients of the format. They were on show throughout.

The series started with twin collapses against quality seam and swing, followed by Mitchell-Blundell resurrection act which would have its sequels. We witnessed a special young tearaway quick in Matthew Potts, who challenged Kane Williamson, one of the best batters of modern times among others. James Anderson and Stuart Broad remain ageless, the latter delivering a classic setup to breach Williamson’s defence at Headingley.

Trent Boult made the new ball talk, and the top-order showed flashes of resistance. Mitchell unleashed the beauty of countering chin-music with the pull, while Leach showed that there’s still beauty and genuine value to spin in the UK.

The 3-0 lead is somewhat misleading to suggest that the visitors were thoroughly outplayed. The first innings lead in the three Tests was 9, 14 and 31 respectively, and both teams stood a fair chance at the start of the fourth dig - one relished the challenge, the other is perhaps still wondering what hit them.

Two of the best of Test generations - Clive Lloyd’s West Indies and Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting’s Australia had a long, extended run of dominance largely with their positive and attacking intensity. Historically, England's landmark Test wins have been brought about by unconventionally aggressive displays from certain characters - Botham in 1981, Pietersen and Flintoff in 2005 and Pietersen again in 2012 in India. 

Hopefully, the recent series offers a lesson, with the trait seemingly rubbing onto the entire team. If approached wisely, it could guarantee sustained success and motivate the cricketing world for a free-flowing brand in the longest format. That promises exciting times ahead.

"I think these last three games should have sent a message to people who aspire to play Test cricket for England over the next two or three years at least.

"I would say it's the manner you play, whether that be with the ball or bat in your hand, not necessarily your stats. Because what we want to do is build on this, and it's not just about this moment, it's about the future as well."

Enough said, Ben Stokes!

 

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