When Brendon McCullum started out as England’s Test head coach, he was asked the thorny question of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and how he might approach succession planning here. “I like to pick the best team every time,” came the reply. “My job will be to plan as if you’ll live for ever, but live as if you’ll die tomorrow.”
It represented a welcome antidote to the overthink that had derailed the side the previous winter, even if it sounded like an Oasis lyric. And a year on, with England’s bucket hats in the city of the Gallagher brothers needing a win to keep Ashes hopes alive, the sentiment remains: Anderson and Broad are one half of the oldest Ashes attack for nearly 100 years and England’s first with four seamers over the age of 33.
One-percenters are part of the longevity and on the eve of this crunch match the pair visited a cryotherapy clinic in nearby Hale, along with another greybeard in Chris Woakes and the younger (unselected) Ollie Robinson. A three-minute blast of minus 70C (minus 94F) air freshened up bodies and minds before the return to the Ashes cauldron, the players apparently left in hysterics at Anderson’s hair frosting over like a yeti.
McCullum and Ben Stokes could be forgiven for wishing it was a cryogenic facility; that they could keep Anderson and Broad in deep freeze between series, before popping them in the microwave when conditions suit. But with that technology in the realms of science fiction at the time of writing, and just five Tests in India between now and next July, it is hard to escape a nagging sense of the endgame approaching us here.
“I don’t want to think about the day when we don’t have them walking out, representing England,” Stokes said, on the eve of the match. “They’re going to be big shoes to fill. Jimmy has been an incredible gift to English cricket, as has Broady as well. For Jimmy to still be doing what he’s doing at 40 years old – that should be an inspiration to up-and-coming bowlers about what you can achieve if you look after yourself.”
This continuing defiance of Father Time means predictions about retirement dates for Anderson and Broad have long since become a mug’s game. And given the significance of the next five days, England 2-1 down with two to play and Australia within touching distance of their own slice of history, perhaps there is no point dwelling on this anyway.
More relevant is whether Anderson can show those low-key outings at Edgbaston and Lord’s were exceptions to his remarkable late-career form, and whether Broad, two wickets short of 600, can continue his now outright dominance of David Warner in home conditions and, more generally, what is becoming his latest barnstorming Ashes.
England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson.
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Josh Hazlewood.
Overall, this is an England team not looking too far ahead; a side that features just three twentysomethings in Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Harry Brook. Moeen Ali, 36, was not in the plans before this series but events since mean the all-rounder is not just back out of Test retirement but suddenly on the card at No 3 – the Mohawk now permanently deployed so that folks lower down retain their preferred spots.
Stokes said he only sees the upside in his players, forcefully throwing his weight behind Jonny Bairstow amid a challenging series. And structure‑wise, Stokes plus five frontline bowlers has proved successful in recent times, returning 10 wins from 10 since 2018. That the supersonic pace of Mark Wood – a genuine mood‑changer in Leeds – can be used in short, sharp bursts, also increases his chances of seeing out the series.
It may be that Stokes has to get more tactically creative than ever, however, with rain forecast for the back end of the match. Australia are also leaving out the spinner Todd Murphy to play both all‑rounders in Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green which, despite protestations otherwise, suggests Pat Cummins would happily take the draw, retain the urn, and look to secure that elusive series win at the Oval next week.
England at least have recent history in this respect, the victory in Leeds last week secured in 230 overs or in effect two‑and‑a‑half days. Last summer, against an admittedly callow South Africa lineup (not least when compared to an Australia side that will have Alex Carey slated at No 8) they won at the Oval despite a washed out day one and day two being abandoned because of the death of the Queen.
Old Trafford, sold out for all five days and now boasting a second hotel on site, is also a happy hunting ground for England, their past 16 Tests here returning 13 wins, two draws and one defeat. That loss was against Australia four years ago, however, Steve Smith’s double century dousing the flames of Headingley to ensure the urn was retained, and you have to go back to 1981 for England’s last Ashes win in M16.
Stokes gave a short, sharp “no” when asked if that statistic had any relevance. This week, with an already memorable Ashes series to be levelled, is very much a case of be here now.
