Ben Stokes has become the big story since England’s first Test against New Zealand. The match seemed to be played in fast forward, and since England sealed victory on day four at Lord’s, the cricket world has continued in the same vein. An often wild match ended with the MCC rushing out a statement reacting to criticism of the pitch, which would be one of the more memorable events of an ordinary summer, but it was practically forgotten within 48 hours.
Celebrations and Crisis
Celebrating England players threw the England and Wales Cricket Board into crisis. The week between Tests ended up being so unusual that the shock retirement of one of the great players of the past two decades almost went unnoticed. Ten days ago, it looked like England had hit upon a lineup that could stay pretty settled through the summer. Now they have made at least four changes for their next game.
Sympathy for Stokes
Mark Ramprakash expressed sympathy for everyone involved after hearing Brendon McCullum speak of his concerns for his captain. He noted that if England win a Test, the players are entitled to go out and celebrate, but there has to be an off switch. A famous quote from Vince Lombardi, the American football coach of the 1960s, was recalled: “Only by knowing yourself can you become an effective leader.” This seems relevant to the situation.
Stokes as a Leader
Stokes is an inspirational cricketer and a great captain, very empathetic with his players, someone who has learned the hard way how difficult it is to live in the spotlight and perform on such a public stage. One reason people love him is because he’s human, he’s fallible. He isn’t perfect, and isn’t expected to be. But a curfew is a sign that people are not trusted to behave the right way. A captain or coach wants to treat people like grownups, satisfied they have the judgment and sense of responsibility to make good decisions. So for a curfew to have been introduced is bad news. For the captain himself to break it would seem to undermine the whole thing, but clearly there is a lot that we still do not know.
Short-Term Suspension
Ramprakash believes a short-term suspension is the right response. Stokes has a lot of credit in the bank and is such a likable guy. Some may find it hard to forget that he backed the curfew and then broke it, but he hopes and believes that everyone has the compassion to move past that if it comes to it. The ECB’s response was good, a contrast to the way it handled a similar incident involving Harry Brook over the winter. It was dealt with quickly, a suspension was imposed, and the case passed to the Cricket Regulator. The right choice was made in appointing Joe Root as interim captain rather than Brook: as a leader, standards and values are so important, and Brook has to prove he deserves that responsibility.
Joe Root's Opportunity
Ramprakash is glad that Root has got another chance. He felt sorry for him when he was captain, with so much responsibility on his shoulders and the balance of the team not quite there. There was a terrible run of results, and it wore him down. Now he thinks Root is in a better place as a person and will be very relaxed about it.
Kane Williamson's Retirement
While one of Test cricket’s “Fab Four” steps up, another has stepped down. Kane Williamson didn’t fully explain what made him decide to retire from all international cricket mid-series in a really unusual move. Over the next two games, he will be missed not just by New Zealand’s fans but by all lovers of the game. Ramprakash practised a little with him last summer when he played for Middlesex and describes him as a delightful guy, so talented, and along with Root, Steve Smith, and Virat Kohli, one of the great players of the past decade, someone who really shows the art of batting: playing the ball late, timing it, finding gaps, concentration. The first time he came across him was as a very young man playing for Gloucestershire exactly 15 years ago while Ramprakash was at Surrey. After the game, he asked for a chat about batting. Ramprakash was taken aback by his politeness, inquisitiveness, and desire to talk about the elements of batting in English conditions. That attitude has taken him a long way.
Pitch Concerns
Ultimately, only Williamson will know if he was still motivated. Perhaps he felt off the pace in the first Test, scoring zero and 18. Ramprakash hopes it wasn’t that, because it was a game when almost everyone looked a bit lost. He was at Lord’s on the fourth morning, watching Josh Tongue, a big unit, getting the ball to climb up and hit the batter on the gloves before the next shot along the ground. That uneven bounce is the killer and turns the game into a bit of a lottery. After two-day Tests during the Ashes in Perth and Melbourne, it’s a concern that we’ve seen many poor surfaces in a format that relies on an even balance between bat and ball. Ramprakash was at Middlesex during a relaying programme at Lord’s in the mid-1990s: they did three at a time because it takes three years for them to bed in, but the relayed wickets were superb. So it will take time, but they will get there again. In the meantime, we have to hope the surface at the Oval is a bit better: after the past week, we’ve probably all had enough unpredictability.
