McCullum passes first test ... and quite a bit more.
England’s new coach, Brendon McCullum, has passed his first test. Albeit with a satisfactory B+. What more did England want though?
His own schooling was done in the classrooms of South Dunedin, a tough no-nonsense group of neighbourhoods, known collectively as ‘The Flat’ - alas, there was nothing flat about this test match.
After three days of back and forth, England finally out-pointed New Zealand early into day four. The 61 runs required came easily to Joe Root and Ben Foakes; neither looked troubled, both showing the required assertion that the tricky assignment warranted. It was a calming end, to an absorbing test match.
For those who braved the inclement Sunday morning weather, there was to be an added bonus; the MCC were made to issue a full refund for the day’s ticket. And, for the England cricket team, there was some red-ball respectability to be enjoyed.
Preceding the game, Coach McCullum emphasised the need to “instantly free up those players who had been immersed in the teams downward spiral” No one has been affected more by that down-trend than Joe Root.
Prophetic words from McCullum. And a gratifying return to the rank and file for private Root. His 26th century, and his first in a fourth innings, will be remembered as one of his very best. More on this later …
The Lords cricket ground has been historically kind to debutants. Only last summer, New Zealand’s Devon Conway completed a century on debut; going on to make a resplendent double-hundred. In the same drawn test match, England’s Ollie Robinson enjoyed a successful debut, too, claiming seven wickets in batsman-friendly conditions.
So, fast-forward 12 months, and I guess there should be no surprise that Matt Potts excelled in his own Lords debut. Potts, a product of Sunderland, and presumably a Mak’em, earned his England call-up with a string of strong performances for his county, Durham. Even the most optimistic pundits could not of predicted his day one heroics though.
But, why did the England gate-keepers put debutant Matt Potts up to the press on day one!?
Yes, OK, I know, 4 for 13 - two outfield catches - the only dent to an unforgettable day being a second ball duck; he wasn’t Robinson Crusoe there, though.
Nevertheless, the sprightly 23-year-old Durham citizen fronted his audience, and to his credit, there was little BS in his observations, just a hint of naivety, and a want to toe the party line.
“We’ve come to entertain, that’s our thing first and foremost, and it’s been an entertaining day of cricket”
That’s our ‘thing’ - ugh. No blame is being pointed here - Potts just employed a youthful narrative that sounded unrealistic given the position of the game at that time, in my opinion.
And then …more on the day, and a look into the crystal ball
“It’s one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, I know the team’s enjoyed it, we’re still in a contest to win a game of Test cricket and we’re going to attack the day tomorrow.”
Well done Matty Potts, a thrilling start to your test ‘playing’ career!
My summary of day one, in a paragraph, would be …
‘It was a predictably frenetic day one, highlighted by England’s immediate success with ball in hand, this, then followed by unsurprising fragility with the bat, and as expected, determined counter-punching by New Zealand, leaving both teams in a net-neutral position.’
New Zealand 132 all out, England 7-116 (Foakes 6* Broad 4*)
Day two dawned and there was no significant wagging from England’s tail, leaving them dismissed for 141, and a lead of just nine. It would seem a wasted opportunity.
In future games, Ben Foakes, will hope to find more willing allies in his job piloting the tail. Batting at seven, he occupies an acutely important position, acting as the conduit between batters, and bowlers, which we will see later. On this occasion though, he had little chance to bat with the top six, so exposing him to the fragility of England’s lower order too hastily.
I keep looking to Stuart Broad - when he plays - expectantly, waiting for his batting ability to resurface. Or, more importantly, his willingness to bat to be visible - his teammates need to see this. To me, it looks like there is a complete abdication of his responsibilities to the team when he is not bowling. A view that might not be widely shared, especially after his day three performance. Considered thought must be given to how Broad is handled.
Still, Broad toiled manfully on day two, as did the rest of England’s attack, oblivious that they would run into the most significant partnership of the game. This after England had made incisive early in-roads, reducing New Zealand to the precarious position of 4-56.
Enter Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, both bottom-hand dominant right-handers. Mitchell more fluent than Blundell, however both committed to the resurrection of the their teams second innings.
The methods they employ are very similar, which would have given optimism to England’s attack. Sadly though, for England, they were incapable of adding to their wicket column for the rest of the day. A near-complete restoration was complete, with New Zealand counter-punching effectively, again.
In short, their partnership’s combined success was built on leaving a wider line, forcing England’s seamers to come into the stumps. To borrow ‘coach speak’, their partnership was ‘better for longer.’
Surprisingly, Joe Root’s off-spin was barely used throughout the partnership, his away drift would of been effective from either end; the pavilion end would of been my choice, challenging the outside edge, with both looking to play with the slope, and spin, aiming to the on-side. A trick missed.
Generally, Root should bowl more. The captain, and coach, should, and will pick up on this, I hope. Additionally, Ben Stokes will also need time to work out his own role with the ball. His match numbers did not read well within the context of the game, and his team’s bowling group. Again, he has credits to spend in this space, it will be interesting to see how he manages both in Nottingham.
England, to their credit, did exactly what they needed to do Saturday morning (Day three).
Allowing just 15 more runs from the Mitchell and Blundell partnership. Mitchell completed a well-deserved century (108 from 203 balls) - and then, Broad clipped a defensive outside edge, Foakes accepting a low diving catch. The door was ajar. A dramatic pivot followed. Colin de Grandhomme was run-out first ball after surviving a close LBW shout, inexplicably losing his crease bearings. Next ball, Broad castled Kyle Jamieson with a beauty. Bedlam ensued, with Broad playing the catch-me-if-you-game, and remarkably, a team hat-trick had been affected.
Thereafter, Southee played his usual cameo; it must be said, he is a highly dependable all-round cricketer. Southee was eventually last out, giving emergency debutant, Matt Parkinson his first wicket. Amid all of the chaos, Tom Blundell unfortunately missed his century, falling to the venerable Jimmy Anderson for a well-made 96. New Zealand had been dismissed for 285, this from a position of control at 5-251.
England needed 276 to win. Nearly double their first innings effort, what chance in the fourth innings of a game that had been denying significant partnerships.
Was there anything for the coach to do in this space? I have always thought 10 minutes between innings is too short. Coach McCullum might disagree. There is a point, an inflection point, when a coach just has to say … nothing.
There is no doubt Brendon McCullum will need a supporting cast as he treads this shared journey of change, those 10 minutes were a time to show faith in the face of silence; I wonder if he did. No matter, the importance of support that believes in the plot is paramount. His silence might have been the perfect play.
England’s rookie opener, Alex Lees, started brightly, unshackling some of his first innings caution. A decent rhythm for the innings was set, or so it seemed, then in the blink of an eye New Zealand came careering back into the game, reducing the hosts to a perilous 4-69.
Enter the captain and his lieutenant.
Ben Stokes and Joe Root held the game in their hands. Or in the case of New Zealand - Colin de Grandhomme’s left foot.
The partnership was barely going when Stokes injudiciously chose to manufacture length against the medium pace of de Grandhomme. An ugly chop-on, and Stokes was in a state of despair; he had close to a minute with himself, rueing the indiscretion as he trudged toward the pavilion. Then, the reprieve from heaven, de Grandhomme had overstepped, and Stokes was recalled to start again.
I know … one like - pathetic. That he did, with some sauce of his own.
Now, finally, back to Joe Root …
Joe Root is a generational batsman.
His method is such that it will survive pretty much any situation: pace, swing, seam, spin, slow wickets, green-tops - roll out, whatever you want, when he is on, it will stand up. It seems a method not contrived, more one that came naturally to the young Root. Yorkshire has long been a fertile place for harvesting dependable batsmen. Root is a long way past dependable.
Singles and doubles engage him the same way a thunderous cover-drive might. This, in my experience, is completely under-valued by the majority of today's young batters.
His strike-rate (SR) excluding boundaries is exceptional. He misses fielders like Maradona used to miss goal-keepers. His overall SR sits in a perfect sweet-spot; this innings was a 160 ball century. Perfect. That was Sachin Tendulkar’s bench-mark ratio.
But his greatest gift, in my opinion, is his ability to preempt what is coming.
Reading bowlers is hard to teach; it is an intuitive skill; still, I believe there is a reluctance to give the skill relevance by many coaches.
I would describe Root as a preemptive batter, not to be confused with a predictive batter. The two are very different.
How often do you see him sat waiting for the back-cut shot, you will see that if you look for this skill. I believe most, or nearly all, of the great contemporary batters play with this skill - Brian Lara being the stand-out.
England have an asset in Root, that surely they will cultivate further. Why would you not cut young batters from the same cloth, or variations of it. He is a beauty!
Come to think of it … England have three generational players in the same team, currently … Root, James Anderson and Ben Stokes.
Coach McCullum just needs to build out the rest of his support cast. I would take a B+ any day of the week! On to Nottingham with his merry men.
