The current climate in Dharmsala, the scene of England’s fourth Test loss in a row against India, is cold and wet, mirroring the murky UK weather at the start of another working week. English commuters could have been listening to some light relief on Monday – via some crash-bang wallop Bazball – on their way to work today. Instead, their beleaguered side barely reached the weekend, blown away in two and a half days by Rohit Sharma’s more streetwise unit. Bazball was muted and mutilated against a team that has now won 17 home series in a row.
The messaging before and during most of England’s tour of India was bravado. Before a ball was bowled, an emboldened Ben Duckett came out swinging with talk of all his sweep shots on both sides of the wicket, By the end, the opener was a bamboozled soul, charging down the wicket to throw his wicket away in the final innings. He’d had enough. “This wicket has been brought about by his inability to trust his defence,” the ESPNcricinfo commentary read. Defeats mess with the mind as do long tours that go wrong.
There’s the rub. Ben Stokes’s side are all about a positive mindset, an intent to go for the attacking options without any retribution coming from the internal ranks. The only thing to fear is fear itself and McCullum has tried to bin that f-word. The other side of fear is recklessness. So while a new mantra has freed the players’ minds to hit the pedal that accentuates the thrill of cricket, the downside is that such an approach isn’t anywhere near as ruthless as it could be.
When having a blast is so visceral and so captivating, cooler heads need to come down from the clouds to seal the deal rather than give the opposition a Route 66 back into the contest. Joe Root, number 66 on his back, belatedly made peace with his former self in the last two Tests. He was no longer driven to distraction by ramps and T20-style salvos. That’s coming in June anyway. He rarely looked like getting out. The difference was as clear as day.
The cold light of day has also reached ground control. Stokes admitted that his team had been “outplayed” although the England skipper then went on a passionate defense, suggesting that critics would write him or his team off “at their peril.” No one is daft enough to do that, nor are they suggesting that things can continue as they are.
Coach McCullum had refused to bite the bullet up to this point, but he almost had a confessional moment in an interview with the BBC. “Sometimes you can get away with things, but when you’re exposed in the way we have been in the back end of this series in particular, it does require some pretty deep thinking and some adjustment to make sure we’re staying true to what we believe in,” admitted the New Zealander.
The air of simplicity and positive intent that the new regime brought back in May 2022 was exactly what England needed after a run of just one victory in 17 Tests. The need to adapt and change in different climates and scenarios has proved more problematic. McCullum’s serious statements are worth doubling in terms of importance as his behind the shades coolness exemplifies the barrier to external voices.
“Whilst you guys know me as a pretty relaxed person, I still have a fierce drive to ensure that we will get this team to where we want to get to. We like to operate in a really calm, enjoyable and positive environment, but we don’t mistake that for not having tough conversations when they are required,” said the 42-year-old.
The only player this England side has jettisoned completely is Alex Lees, who was perhaps least equipped to go hell for leather in the red-ball game. Stokes still insists that the Test team still contains the best six or seven batsman, but once upon a time back in assistant coach Paul Collingwood’s day, there was a certain elitism in that top six. The same thing must not happen again.
These are the “tough conversations” the coach has promised to have within the current set-up. McCullum and Stokes are optimists and don’t dwell on the knives out column inches. They have created a body of work that is very good and picked up new followers along the way. Having taken several body punches, the future planning for the West Indies and Sri Lanka this summer needs a commitment to the jab rather than the knockout punch. Not every fan or gameplan needs something to happen every other minute.