It could be viewed as the start of a year that will define the captaincy of Ben Stokes, but beyond an instruction to the medical staff to furnish him with “eight fit fast bowlers” come the Ashes, he claims to be looking squarely at the task at hand.
Similarly, this two-Test tour of New Zealand could be framed as having an extra layer of meaning personally. Thursday’s first Test at Bay Oval will be the first time Stokes has led the England team in the country of his birth, with his mother, Deborah, set to attend the second Test in Wellington next week.
While every century he makes these days is dedicated to his late father, Ged, through that crooked finger salute towards the sky, Stokes is keen to play down any added significance. Instead, aged 31 and with his own legacy secured by climbing those twin peaks of Lord’s and Headingley in 2019, it is about others now.
“I’m at a stage where I would much prefer to leave a mark on other people’s career than look to make mine more established,” he said, two days out from the series opener as Cyclone Gabrielle made way for brighter skies.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket and done some great things with some great teams over the years. Being captain, I’ve got a real desire to make the best out of the team I’ve got here and the players who will come in in the future.
“That’s one of my goals as England captain: to hopefully let some of these guys in the dressing room here just have an amazing career. If I can influence that in any way shape or form, then I’ll be happy.”
This outlook has informed much of what we have seen under Stokes. The run of nine wins from his first 10 Test matches in charge has been built on sympathetic off-field management and loyalty in selection. He and Brendon McCullum, a head coach once again plotting the downfall of his homeland, want to strip away the pressures of the top level. “In the past that might have crept in every now and again,” Stokes said.
It is not simply about a happy camp, however, but the belief it will allow them to push the limits of what is possible. Stokes may have flirted with the line between selfless and reckless at times, but those successful fourth-innings chases of 277, 299, 296 and 378 last season and the string of records broken in Pakistan, suggest it is working.
The crowning glory came in Rawalpindi, where their 506 for four was the most scored on day one of a Test (from 76 overs), likewise the four centurions who powered it. Harry Brook twice flirted with England’s fastest Test hundred – Gilbert Jessop’s 76-ball assault against Australia back in 1902 – as did Jonny Bairstow last summer. Not that Stokes is fussed about milestones or prescribed targets.
“I couldn’t tell you who Gilbert Jessop was,” he said, laughing. “We don’t sit down before a series and go ‘these records need to be broken’. Attitude and approach is the best way to describe it. And making it very simple; knowing we are going to have to absorb pressure, but jumping at the opportunity when we feel like this is the right time.
“The batting group have got a huge understanding of what they can do now because we’ve let them be free. It’s almost like they get themselves in first and second gear and then all of a sudden they’ll go up to fifth because they see that as an opportunity to pounce and really put teams back under pressure.
“Things are going pretty smoothly at the moment, but if it doesn’t go well we won’t shy away from it. We showed that against South Africa when we got beat [in the first Test]. When you fail, it’s an opportunity to bounce back and show you’re not worried or scared to go out there and try the same thing.”
The top seven that finished the 3-0 clean sweep in Pakistan will resume here, although a fresh challenge – Bazball versus pink ball – does present additional scope for jeopardy. In England’s last day-night Test in New Zealand they were rolled for a sorry 58 in Auckland. It is also worth remembering that 2008 – the birth of the Jimmy Anderson/Stuart Broad axis that resumes here – was the last time England enjoyed a Test win on these shores.
Stokes was also aware that last year’s 3-0 sweep of the Black Caps at home had an abundance of sliding doors moments, even if he viewed this as instructive too. “We know that we can be dominant, but we also know that when we are behind in a game we can turn it around quickly,” he said. “It goes back to the point about attitude.”
New Zealand (possible): Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Tom Southee (c), Scott Kuggeleijn, Neil Wagner, Blair Tickner
England (confirmed): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson
Though New Zealand’s lineup from one to seven is familiar and strong – Kane Williamson is focused solely on his batting these days, while Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell were hardy perennials last year – the national state of emergency declared in response to Cyclone Gabrielle also applies to their bowling attack.
The storm has moved on, but a recurrence of Kyle Jamieson’s stress fracture, the impending birth of Matt Henry’s first child and Trent Boult’s switch to T20 freelancer has left the hosts light in the supposed Bay of Plenty. Whichever two from Blair Tickner, Jacob Duffy and Scott Kuggeleijn come in, they will be debutants.
As such, while New Zealand have not lost a home series in five years, it makes Tim Southee’s second assignment as Test captain a challenging one and underlines why Stokes wants an abundance of quicks ready for the Ashes.
