Ben Foakes knows not to take anything for granted after five years and 19 Test caps. Something happens to throw him off course just when he appears to be on the verge of something good.
A 2018-19 winter that began with a century on debut in Sri Lanka ended with two Tests dropped into the West Indies series that January.
A recall against India at the start of 2021 was followed by missing the entire summer after slipping on a sock in the Surrey changing room and damaging his hamstring.
Even after becoming the side’s full-time gloveman at the start of last summer, he contracted Covid-19 in the third Test against New Zealand and was replaced mid-match by Sam Billings, who went on to play the following game against India at Edgbaston after Foakes was unable to heal in time.
He then fell ill in Pakistan meaning not only did he miss the first of the three Tests, but he was left out of the second as Ben Stokes wanted to preserve a more offensive balance and remain with Ollie Pope behind the stumps.
To add to the almost hilarious amount of misfortune, Foakes had to offer his Surrey teammate his gloves because Pope had forgotten to bring his own.
And now, just days after posting his sixth fifty-plus score in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand to help set up a crushing 267-run victory, another major challenge looms. One lot more dangerous to Foakes’ Test hopes than a missing sock.
While Jonny Bairstow recovers from a broken ankle, his substitute Harry Brook’s world-beating, borderline historic form has presented a selection headache.
In Brendon McCullum’s first few months in charge, Bairstow was the beating heart of the batting, scoring four centuries. Brook has now taken his place with three hundreds in four Tests.
Suggested options for getting them both in the XI have included some creative permissions for one of them to act as an opener. Unfortunately for Foakes, the simplest solution would be to remove the gloves and return them to Bairstow for the first time since September 2021.
Of course, none of this is certain. And who knows – there’s a chance this conversation will never happen. Foakes is aware that it is a topic of discussion. Yet, his experiences over the last year have proved that passion for his own game is far superior to anxiety.
“I think my England journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster from day one,”
Foakes said before England left for Wellington, where the second Test begins on Friday.
“I’ve had a lot of times out of the team where I’ve thought about ‘how do I get back in?’ and things like that, and I guess thinking about those things doesn’t help my game at all.
In response to the possibility of losing his spot to Bairstow, he stated:
“Naturally, you’re going to think about things. But at the stage I’m at, there’s no point stressing over it. I’m having some good form in my career and I’m just trying to enjoy that rather than stressing about what might happen.
“In international cricket you will always go through certain phases. There have been so many times in my career when I’ve thought ‘oh that’s going to happen, that’s going to happen’ and it never has. So there’s no point in worrying about it.”
Even under the new regime built on eradicating uncertainty, fakes weren’t always this way. With all due respect, his game is a throwback – even if you don’t have to go back that far.
He has the majority of the shots, but few of them are in the air; he is more of a conventional accumulator than one of the new radicals alongside him.
The pressure on Foakes will always be a little bit more as the one doing things differently, especially with Bairstow recovering in the wings. Regardless of how the cards fall, it is clear at this point that Foakes being true to himself and being true to the team go hand in hand.
If and when that changes, he can rest assured that he has fulfilled all of his responsibilities. And it was done well.