HUW TURBERVILL: The England men's Test captain has expressed a wish that cricket writers do not criticise his side's belligerent approach to the game, dubbed 'Bazball'. But will his plea fall on deaf ears?
England Test captain Ben Stokes gave an earnest and engaging press conference at the end of a superb first summer: a 3-0 win over New Zealand was followed by the one-off Test win against India, then there was the 2-1 victory over South Africa.
He spoke for 22 minutes and during that time expressed a wish that cricket writers would not criticise his side's belligerent approach to the game, dubbed 'Bazball' in deference to coach Brendon McCullum.
It struck me as a little naïve, as I thought about the cricket writers of the past who would have scoffed at being told to hold back, but then we live in unusual times.
Stokes said: "Me and the team… have a responsibility for upcoming cricketers who aspire to play for England… if you look at 10, 11, 12-year-olds, things will be different... there will be a new way of playing… but we're trying to inspire them… but for all the positive stuff we've done this summer, I feel there's an added responsibility on people who comment on the way that we play as well.
"Because we're in the day and age now that social media is so accessible in a certain way… if we play in a certain way and are saying that's it what we want to do and we believe in it… to be… almost… criticised for that – what type of message is that sending to the next generation? They will get mixed messages… it could leave people in a grey area… people who write about the game should understand that they have a responsibility as well…"
Certainly, it offers food for thought.
Personally, I worry that Stokes’ batting aggression – CricViz says he attacked 41 per cent of balls this summer compared to 24 per cent in 2019 – is underselling his talents.
Ben Stokes has attacked 41% of the balls he's faced in home Tests this year, the highest percentage he's ever attacked in a home summer. #EngvSA pic.twitter.com/VCfrk4IHi4
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) September 10, 2022
And I fear his plea for untrammelled support will fall on deaf ears.
With tongue slightly in cheek, here are examples of England captains who would have wished cricket writers had held back...
Albert 'Monkey' Hornby was England captain when they lost a one-off Test against Australia at the Kia Oval in 1982. The Sporting Times newspaper proclaimed 'the death of Ashes cricket', which eventually gave rise to the Ashes. Hornby managed only 21 runs in his three Tests.
Douglas Jardine devised a tactic to try to derail the brilliance of Don Bradman in 1932-33. Leg Theory, aka Bodyline (short-pitched bowling directed at the body with close-in fielders ready to pounce on the legside), was partially effective – the Don averaged 'only' 56.57 in the rubber compared to 99.94 in his career overall.
The tactic caused severe ructions, however, and threatened the relationship between England and Australia. "We may well win the Ashes, but we may very well lose a Dominion," Rockley Wilson, Jardine's coach at Winchester, told him.
Gubby Allen's man-management left something to be desired. England won the first two Tests of the 1936-37 winter. But when Walter Robins dropped Bradman during his 270 in the third Test at Melbourne, Allen told him one of these things (reports vary): "You've just dropped the Ashes, but don’t worry about it"; or "It has probably cost us the rubber, but don't give it a thought"; or my personal favourite: "You’ve cost us the Ashes, but think nothing of it."
Len Hutton (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Australia defeated England 4-0 in 1948, and in fact went unbeaten all tour, hence earning 'the Invincibles' tag.
The hosts didn’t help themselves in the third Test at Old Trafford, captain Len Yardley dropping Len Hutton. Australia were delighted, thinking he was England's best batsman. England did actually draw at Manchester, but Hutton returned at Headingley to show his class, making 81 and 57 (albeit in a seven-wicket defeat).
Hutton gave Australia first use at Brisbane in 1954-55, and the hosts piled up 601 for 8. Mike Denness put Australia in at Edgbaston on an uncovered wicket in 1975. The tourists made 359; then it rained, and England slumped to 101 and 173. Bob Willis chose to field at Adelaide in 1982-83. Australia made 438 and won by eight wickets.
And finally, Nasser Hussain ignored the mistake of the past at the Gabba 48 years earlier, and Australia made 492 to win by 384 runs in 2002-03.
In 1958/59, Peter May led a torrid tour to Australia. England came unstuck against Australia's chuckers and 'drag' bowlers, losing the series 4-0; and May was criticised for taking his fiancée, Virginia Gilligan, on the trip, the accusation being that he did not spend enough time with his team.
David Gower gave Australia the initiative in 1989 (Adrian Murrell/Allsport)
The Ashes series of 1989 also started with a bad choice at the toss. David Gower gave Australia first use and they made 601 for 7. But it would be wrong to just highlight that. The summer was dire.
It was clear that England were going to go two-down at Lord's when Gower faced the media after the third day, the Saturday. Already tired, he became exasperated with the line of questioning.
Attempting to inject some levity into proceedings, the cricket correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, Peter Deeley accused him of flippancy. At that point, Gower announced that he had tickets for the theatre and made his exit, stage left. The play? Anything Goes.
Mike Atherton came under fire for the 'dirt in the pocket; affair' in 1994. It happened during the first Test against South Africa, at Lord's. Atherton had kept grit in his pocket to keep one side of the ball dry to help Darren Gough, who was finding reverse swing.
When quizzed about incriminating pictures on the BBC that showed him applying the dirt to the ball, Atherton omitted to tell match referee Peter Burge what he had in his pocket. If he had known about the dirt, Burge said he would have suspended Atherton. In the eyes of the Test and County Cricket Board, that would probably have meant the end of his captaincy.
Supremo Ray Illingworth acted swiftly, fining him £1,000. Atherton had been backed by the public up until then, but his actions provoked an uproar, with The Times leading the chorus of disapproval.
Captain Andrew Flintoff himself wrote about the 2006/07 Ashes trip, which saw Australia win 5-0: "I turned up for nets… not in the best of shape, although I wouldn't say I was as bad as coach Duncan Fletcher has said I was.
"I'm not going to try to make excuses because I know I shouldn't have arrived for training smelling of booze. It was unprofessional but it was indicative of my state of mind at the time. I wasn't the only one, I hasten to add, and it wasn't just the players – most of the support staff were at it more than we were. It was like being on a booze cruise."
Nasser Hussain's blunder at The Gabba remains fresh in the memory (Darren England/Getty Images)
Sir Alastair Cook took a fair bit of flak as captain, a lot of centred around the 2013/14 Ashes series, which saw Australia win 5-0 again.
At Brisbane, his tactics were deemed too defensive. At Perth for the third Test, Shane Warne said he followed the ball with his field placings. After the fourth Test defeat at the MCG, Mark Butcher said: "Tactically he was awful. He seems to be able to do nothing about the outcome of the game once the boulder starts running down the hill. He has no real feel for the nuances of the game."
Somehow Cook stuck it out, only for Shane Warne to criticise him again the following summer. "His captaincy on Monday at Headingley (against Sri Lanka) was the worst I've ever seen at international level in almost 25 years in the game. It was horrific."
Geoff Boycott also waded in: "He had no imagination, no plan B and no different tactics." Cook has thick skin, though, and stayed in the job until 2016-17.
Joe Root made an honourable exit after an underwhelming series in the West Indies in early 2022. Any tactical shortcomings in his five-year stint were generally made up for by his brilliant batting and the great way he conducted himself. His tactics and the way he handled his seamers Jofra Archer, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, were often questioned, however.
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