Telford Vice
The Road ahead for England
Will England be exceptional or on eggshells in South <a href="https://absafricatv.com/nfl-seeks-to-break-into-africa-with-kenya-competition/” title=”NFL Seeks To Break Into Africa With Kenya Competition”>Africa?
byTelford Vice•
England’s recent Test record has been poor.© Getty
England’s recent Test record has been poor.©Getty
England will play three Tests, nine ODIs and eight T20Is against India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia in the 166 days from Tuesday until December 26, when they start a Test series against South Africa at the Wanderers.
That’s time and opportunity enough, you would think, to sort themselves out. For a new Test captain and coach to bed in and pretend they never heard of Bazball. For Brendon McCullum to get used to seeing only white balls in the nets and on the field.
Unless, of course, those three Tests, nine ODIs and eight T20Is don’t go well enough. Given who and what we’re dealing with – chronic over-thinkers, a press that analyses everything in withering detail, and a public addicted to nostalgia fuelled exceptionalism, however unfounded – the English could still be on eggshells when they arrive in South Africa.
At least, South Africans will hope so. England have won the last four Test series between the teams, home and away. Graeme Smith’s side were the last to earn victory against these opponents, in England in July 2012.
Will England’s propensity for navel-gazing help South Africa pull one back? It hasn’t for the past 14 years. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be a factor. Because the English have a way of not only competing against their opponents, but of trying to advance what they perceive as their place in the wider game.
“Everybody here still thinks of cricket as an English-originated sport,” Andrew Hall told Cricbuzz. “It is, of course. But they think England are the pinnacle, and that they need to be the frontrunners of cricket. But players think financially now rather than, like they did years ago, playing cricket because they love the sport and want to represent their country.
“The pinnacle is no longer representing your country. It’s getting picked up by an IPL team. Because they own teams in South Africa, West Indies, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. And they’ve now bought into The Hundred teams in England.
“Players have changed their thinking not about their loyalty, but about what’s the pinnacle of the game.”
Johannesburg-born Hall featured in 21 Tests, 88 ODIs and two T20Is for South Africa. He also played 325 matches across the formats for Northamptonshire, Kent and Worcestershire across the formats. He moved to England in 2010, and is head of cricket at Milton Keynes Preparatory School. Few are better placed to look at English cricket through a non-English lens.
So, will England, who have won only two of their last nine Tests and one of their last five series in the format, pull themselves together before they turn up in South Africa?
“I think so. They’ve got a very strong group of players who can play Test cricket well. But they’ve got themselves caught between plans. They feel like they need to play this entertaining brand of cricket they talk about, but they know they have to do well. They’re trying to do both. They’re trying to be innovative and to be leaders. And it worked for a period.”
Until it didn’t. Ben Stokes’ retirement from international cricket during the Trent Bridge Test against New Zealand last month was one consequence. On Sunday, McCullum was sacked as Test coach
“It’s been a long time coming, especially with McCullum,” Hall said. “They haven’t had the results they thought they should have had. From the start [of his tenure in May 2022], to be fair, there’s been scepticism from a lot of commentators, ex-captains and players here about the style of cricket he’s trying to promote. In the beginning it worked quite well. But they’ve reached a point where they either have to look at the plan or at the players.”
Hall has empathy for the load England captains have to carry, derived from an interaction he had with Eoin Morgan at Lord’s while he was the white-ball skipper.
“He was coming to sign some stuff for the kids we had there. In the space of two hours he was on the phone for about an hour and 45 minutes; talking to selectors, players, the media. It was crazy. There is so much pressure on England captains, which only gets worse when the team haven’t performed as well as people expect.”
Who will captain England’s Test team in South Africa has yet to be decided. Along with who the coach of that side might be. But we already know, whoever they are, they will be considered – and written up as, and thought of as – exceptional. Whether it’s true or not matters little. That’s the English way, and always will be.
