Ben Stokes’ presence in the Indian Premier League, according to Brendon McCullum, won’t put the Ashes this summer at risk.
The Test captain for England, Stokes, is torn between his duty to his nation and his £1.6 million contract with Chennai Super Kings, despite the fact that his left knee needs daily care and rest in preparation for the 2023 English season.
In the dramatic second Test against New Zealand, which the hosts won by one run to tie the two-match series, Stokes struggled to bat freely due to the problem, which has gotten worse over the winter to the point where he was only able to bowl two overs in the game.
Speaking after the game at the Basin Reserve, he said that he found it “extremely irritating” because he couldn’t contribute fully, especially as the fourth seamer, but dispelled rumors that he would quit the IPL.
In order to be prepared for the first Test of the summer against Ireland at Lord’s on June 1, Stokes this week mentioned the option of leaving the competition early (which runs from March 31 to May 28). But he only mentioned this if he felt he needed a longer lead-in.
The 31-year-old will be ready for the summer, according to McCullum, the Test coach, not only because he has complete faith in the CSK setup, of which he was a part for two seasons, but also because he is aware of how important a series against Australia is to his skipper.
“I don’t think he’s jeopardizing it,” McCullum said. “The Chennai set-up is excellent in looking after their players and they’ve a very good medical team and he will be well looked after. The skipper has a strong mind and he knows how to get right for the big moments.”
“His life is that, right? So I don’t have any concerns. In fact I look forward to watching him play in it and see, without captaincy as well, the opportunity to play cricket without worrying about everybody else, knowing when he comes back into the fold and leads us into the Ashes campaign he’ll have the bit between his teeth and I think we’ll be alright.
“He sees the big picture in everything, so I’ve no concerns that the skipper will be totally looked after. And I also believe that the Ashes is the script that the skipper is waiting to write, so he’ll be sweet.”
The presence of McCullum’s close buddy Stephen Fleming in the CSK dugout further eases his anxiety. As McCullum’s first captain on the international stage, Fleming has been in control of the team since 2009 and has remained in New Zealand for the whole of this series.
He has been in frequent contact with Ben Stokes about his health and other plans, and it is believed that Stokes has been considered for a senior position at CSK, maybe as part of an MS Dhoni succession plan.
“I’ve got a tee-time with him tomorrow Wednesday afternoon,” McCullum said. “So I’ll be talking to him and making sure he looks after the skipper, but I know that Chennai set-up actually. I played in that franchise and they’re very good. They’ve got a good team and an outstanding leader in Flem.”
McCullum has resisted talking about the Ashes up until this point, frequently joking that it is an unhealthy English fixation.
He does admit that he is curious to see how a team that has won 10 out of 12 Test matches will fare against such heated rivals with the series only three months away. England last won the Ashes in 2015, and as they return from the winter, there is a quiet hope that they can do so again.
“I hadn’t thought about the Ashes, to be honest. I know everyone talks about it and obviously you’re going to be judged on your performance in the Ashes as well.
“But now I’m starting to go ‘the next series is the Ashes; that’s pretty cool’. I think this team has grown over the last eight or nine months. I think it’s become more at ease with how we’re playing, and it’s become more authentic as well. And I think it certainly does give ourselves the best chance of being able to topple a good Australian side.”
“We know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m pretty sure that we will play a very similar style of cricket that we’ve played throughout the last eight or nine months. And with eight or nine months of development of that style under our belt, we should be hard to beat.”
“Now we can really get excited about it, I think we’ve tried to live in the moment rather than look too far ahead and make sure that we’re really present with what we’re doing.”
“Now we have the opportunity to really start to plot and plan, and turn our attention to what’s going to be a pretty amazing time in the guys’ lives: an Ashes series at home against a good Australian side. So I think we’ll go into it with a lot of confidence. We know they’re a good side. We’ll work out who wins.”
On June 16, it is difficult to determine who will make up the starting 11 at Edgbaston. McCullum has improved his knowledge of all 16 players utilized in Pakistan and New Zealand, as well as players who were on squads but saw no action, as a result of the winter.
Jonny Bairstow’s recovery from a broken leg, coupled with bowling alternatives like Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, and Sam Curran returning to red-ball contention through white-ball practice, are all expected to expand his player pool even further.
The most interesting of the group is Bairstow. When a major accident on the golf course prevented him from playing in the Oval Test against South Africa, he was the face of the 2022 summer, scoring four hundreds in the first five games under Stokes and McCullum.
With four hundreds in five games this winter, Harry Brook, who was brought in to replace him, has gone on to shock the world and has a batting average of 80.90 and a strike rate of 98.77.
Although there is no assurance that Bairstow will resume his prior form, if his rehabilitation goes as planned, it is likely that he will make the starting Eleven.
Zak Crawley, who started a run of 10 innings with scores of 122 and 50, or Ben Foakes, who averaged just 29.30 over the winter, have been the two candidates that have generated the most curiosity in recent months.
To avoid forcing players into new roles for its own purpose, McCullum promised. He also praised Foakes, who nearly helped England win the second Test, and confirmed Crawley’s value as a streaky player with great potential.
“There are a lot of quality players to get in the XI. There will be opportunities. What we can’t do is try and crowbar people in. We need to take stock when the first Test arrives, what the fitness is like and how the guys are going and we will make the call from there.”
“One thing we are not afraid to do is be brave in selection. If we think it gives us our best opportunity to win, that will be our mantra throughout.”
“Foakes has been excellent, not just as a wicketkeeper which is world-class. He came up to the stumps to impact the game and got a wicket with Daryl Mitchell stepping back and pulling the ball up in the air.”
“Little things like that make a big difference and, to me, show a real sign that Foakesy is trying to make an impact on the game, which is what you want from all your players.”
“He nearly played an absolute hand at the end to get us across the line and he has played some vital hands right across the summer for us as well. He has really developed as a cricketer for us over the last nine months.”
“Our team is set up at the top of the order for Zak to play like that. To become more at ease within that role, he needs to not try to catch form but, day in and day out, turn up with that same aggressive mindset and, if he does that, I have no doubt his talent will come out.”
“He is one of those guys, the Australians from my conversations with Ricky Ponting, they respect him for the instinct and power he has at the top of the order and how destructive he can be. He is still a big player for us moving forward.”
For McCullum, the coming weeks will be a time of reflection. After winning the first Test in Wellington by 267 runs and a 3-0 victory in Pakistan, England’s chances of finishing the winter with a perfect win record were destroyed. The manner of this defeat, though, highlighted the necessity of playing exciting Test cricket.
“I thought it was epic actually. I know we came out on the wrong side of it – or the losing side of it – but in terms of what we set out to achieve at the start of the campaign as a side, I thought we’d certainly played our part in that. I think there’ll be millions – tens of millions – of people around the world that sat back and enjoyed that Test match.
“I’m just really proud of the guys and the fight that they’ve shown, the application they’ve shown and also the investment and how this team’s wanting to play throughout. So yeah, slightly disappointing finish, I guess from a result point of view, but I think it leaves us in a pretty good space moving forward for a pretty big challenge.”