Key events
That’s all, folks!
Ali Martin
Thank you everyone – good fun, that. Look forward to more debate below the line during the Test series and when CC Live whirs back into life.
Does Test cricket have a future?
curryandchips asks: How long does Test cricket realistically have left outside Ashes/ India?
Ali:
It’s the million-dollar question and sadly, I am not optimistic given the current thirst for franchise T20 and dwindling Test crowds overseas. Oh for some joined up thinking at ICC level …
Why is it so hard to find English spinners?
Ibatch40 asks: Why is it harder to find English spinners than enriching uranium? What can be done as the county schedule now favours them even less? I was aware they were sending Lions teams abroad, could the ECB fund young spinners to play whole seasons overseas as part of their development?
Ali:
It’s a decent suggestion – I remember interviewing Terry Jenner back in the day, who through funding from the Brian Johnston Memorial Trust helped develop English young leg-spinners. Adil Rashid – the best we’ve had for 50 years – was one notable graduate (I still can’t believe he never played a Test match in Australia nor won more caps generally but that’s another matter).
Plenty comes down to the time of year when CC is played and some over-officiousness in the past (eg Ciderabad). It will be interesting to see how the pitches play in late Aug/Sept after this heatwave. Hopefully we see more spin and counties back their own. I note Lancs have once again hired an overseas in Noman Ali … I really feel for Tom Hartley, who I think has excellent potential.
Has The Hundred helped attendance figures?
JanOlsson asks: Has there been any noticeable increase in County one-day, 20/20 or 4 day Championship attendance since the start of The Hundred as this was one of its stated aims.
Ali:
I am yet to see any figures to that effect but like a lot of stated aims, they were a bit of a smokescreen to push through a tournament that could be sold off to private investment. Thing is, the true shop window remains the England men’s Test team. As per Richard Gould, ECB CEO, at the start of the season, their data shows it is still No1 across all age-groups and demographics.
Which captain’s my captain?
Wilberforce1 asks: Should Brook be test captain and 50 over captain, with Bethell or Sam Curran T20i captain?
Ali:
He would have been my choice as Test captain and yes, possibly with Bethell taking over the T20i side given that team is a longer term project. This is harder to do with split coaches, however, and probably one of the reasons Brook was told to stay put. I understand it to a degree, given where they find themselves currently. But where they find themselves need not have been …
Why does Jofra Archer get a pass?
notdrowningjustwavin asks: When are people going to start to say that Jofra Archer’s test record is mediocre? Why does he get a pass?
Ali:
Hmm, 71 Test wickets at 29, including 31 at 22 against Australia … there’s definitely scope for improvement in the overall figures and he still can be more impactful when the game is in the balance. I get some of the frustration with the injuries and the amount of money spent on contracts over the years. But having made that investment – and, it should be said, England managed his return well second time around – I certainly wouldn’t want them to discard him any time soon.
Does the dearth of captaincy candidates reflect squad culture?
MaxWills asks: Is the dearth of captaincy candidates a reflection of the squad culture in recent years? Or is it emblematic of the broader infantilisation of society as a whole?
Ali:
Ha! I hadn’t thought of the latter. Maybe. Although I think more than anything it reflects how hard it is to groom captains within the team, even if it’s the only realistic way in the current schedule. The job is contingent on being worth a place in the XI but the vacancy tends to come up when the team has suffered a nose-dive in results. They pumped 60-odd caps into Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, only for both to be on the outer when Stokes retired.
Why doesn’t England draw from the Lions?
regularguyp asks: What is the point of the Lions if, when faced with needing a new captain, opener and all rounder, the answer is to go back to people who’ve already been tried once and replaced due to underperformance?
Much has been made of a need for greater links to the County Championship, but the B squad just looks like an exhibition exercise rather than meaningful succession planning.
Ali:
Good question. In my mind the Lions should be a finishing school, adding the extra value in training and preparation that younger players might not necessarily get at their counties, easing the step up if and when it occurs.
Recently I’ve heard the odd player grumble about it being a place where you get told how good you are, rather than where to improve/constructive criticism. I don’t necessarily see it as having to be the next best 15 after the senior squad, however.
What would constitute a successful series against Pakistan from England’s point of view?
CaligulaMcNutt asks: Hi Ali. After the Ashes and then the loss to NZ, and the associated departures of McCullum and Stokes, what would constitute a successful series against Pakistan from England’s point of view? What do you think England’s goals should be, especially looking forward to the next 12 months?
Ali:
First and foremost, they simply have to get some wins on the board. A second series defeat at home this summer is unthinkable and would see the sky fall in. More broadly, they should be hoping that a cohesive bowling unit starts to emerge and that they end the series with good headaches in terms of the batting positions. In 2024 we were told England were looking to become more refined and we mistakenly took this to mean a bit more nuance to their approach.
Tricky old winter, mind you: England have a good record in South Africa but they are a quality outfit, while Bangladesh away will again ask questions of their ability to bowl and play spin. I’d be surprised if it’s a smooth, upward graph.
Should England move Brook to 4 and put Root at 5?
TotesMcGotes asks: Would England be wise to take this opportunity – that of Root being captain presumably until the ODI World Cup is past and then Brook takes over – to move Brook to 4 and put Root at 5? Otherwise there is a good chance that Brook moves to 4 around the same time as he takes on the captaincy.
Why not incentivise Brook to develop the maturity (that is lacking at times) in his game now with the added responsibility, then the captaincy would follow neatly. It also takes a bit of pressure off Root who hopefully would not be coming in to bat within 30-60mins of captaining in the field so often.
Ali:
As before, I would have looked to achieve this by giving Harry Brook the captaincy straight away. It’s not the worst idea now they haven’t, although with so much of the team in flux – and Root’s preference being No4 – I can see why they’ve chosen to stick with the existing order for now.
Is six Tests in the English summer set in stone?
MediumOne asks: Is six Tests in the English summer (down from 7 pre-2019) set in stone nowadays do you think? With the Hundred now taking up a month, it feels as though there’s never been less interest in bilateral T20s, so perhaps an opportunity to reduce these down a bit – and do 3-4 T20s even make more money than a Test, unless they’re against India?
Ali:
It is certainly set in stone in terms of the current broadcast deal, which runs to the end of 2028 (obviously the WTC final tops this up to seven every couple of years, plus the all-too-few women’s Test matches). As for the value of each format/competition, the all-in nature of the TV deal means this is all slightly opaque. What I do know is that when the world stopped in 2020, it was Test cricket that all parties were most desperate to stage and we were told each match was worth £20m in TV money (a figure which rises significantly with crowds, corporate, sponsorship etc). Outside of World Cups, you do see interest waning in white-ball bilaterals a touch. I hope the next deal is split, so we can get a stronger sense of the breakdown. Right now I suspect Test cricket- the format most people pay their Sky subs to watch – is subsidising The Hundred…
Opinion on Harry Brook?
TheSozz asks: What’s your view on Harry Brook? He seems incredibly talented but a bit brainless. He’s been passed over for the test captaincy, so what’s your view? What’s his ceiling? Stokes tells us he’s a wonderfully insightful reader of the game, but is he really?
If not Brook for the captaincy after Joe, then who would your money be on?
(Love your work, btw Ali. Big shoes to fill in this parish, but you’re doing grand)
Ali:
Thanks! As for Brook, I am currently writing something about Brook ahead of the Pakistan series and, in short, I truly believe he can go on to become an all-time great. His hand-eye ability is on a par with Steve Smith or AB de Villiers – that rare ability to almost see the matrix others can’t.
I think ‘brainless’ is harsh. For one, he was a willing and loyal conscript to Brendon McCullum’s attacking approach and many of his innings/dismissals to date reflect this. He may also be a victim of his own ability, possessing a 360-degree range of shots but still learning when and where to bring them out.
I listened to AB on a podcast recently talking about risk management; how Brook must get better at spotting the moments when the risk is high and anything between 10 minutes and an hour of gutsing it out will allow him to truly cash in when it eventually drops. The fact he averages 53 while still yet to crack this aspect says plenty about how high his ceiling is.
As for captaincy, he reads the game well from what I have seen with the white-ball teams. Clearly some of his other decision making (ie Wellington nightclub etc) has room for improvement but I would still have gone with him as the forward-thinking choice, rather than go back to Joe Root. While I don’t worry about Root’s ability to score runs as captain, I do fear it could shorten his Test career and thus cap his overall output.
Will Root be willing to think outside the box?
wickselmbarkers asks: Will Root be willing to think out of the box as a returning captain with funky fields and also change his captaincy style slightly this time around?
Ali:
It’s a good question and one that Mark Ramprakash is looking into for his column early next week. People can pick holes in how Stokes went about the job but Root should hopefully have learned a bit from watching him. It won’t be easy now England’s home bankers have left the stage and that second morning at the Oval did set alarms ringing a bit…
Are Pakistani cricket journalists good fun?
LordPesk asks: Pesk Jr’s favourite cricket match he ever watched was England v Pakistan, the Pakistani fans near us were such a good laugh, and the atmosphere was brilliant. Are their journalists as good fun?
Ali:
Absolutely, I have some very good friends in their “media corps” including the likes of Shahid Hashmi, Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi, Zainab Abbas, Mazher Arshad (I’ll get in trouble for missing some names here no doubt). Have never been made to feel so welcome in a press box as during that Test tour in 2022. One sadness this summer is that Qamar Ahmed is no longer with us, having passed away in June. Q covered possibly more Test matches in history than anyone and was always so warm and generous.
Who is missing?
Rooto asks: Who do you think is missing from the squad? How many points will Lancs win Division 2 by?
Ali:
Beyond Rehan Ahmed, I don’t think there are too many glaring absentees. Craig Overton is enjoying a superb season for Somerset but I don’t see him as one of England’s best four quicks or able to bat higher than No8. I have been tracking Mitch Stanley for a while, who looks to have some serious attributes, but can see he’s not quite Test-ready yet. As you well know, I have retired from any Lancashire predictions…
Would it not make more sense to play a batting all-rounder who can bowl spin?
LastWarriorPoet asks: In the absence of a genuine batting all-rounder, would it not make more sense to play, or at least develop by playing, a batting all-rounder who can bowl spin? There are options – Ahmed, Coles, maybe Jacks – all of whom have far greater potential than four seam bowlers plus cobbling something together from Lawrence and Root.
Is it in fact the truth that by effectively dumping a bowling option for an extra batter, England have reverted back to the failed safety first approach of the previous decade?
Ali:
This slightly carries on from the question about Rehan Ahmed and I agree with your broader point. Ben Stokes is clearly a huge loss but reducing potency with the ball in favour of some extra runs is not the way I would have gone personally. This may be a holding pattern of sorts, however, because it’s clear they are looking at Sam Curran for the role down the line (he is not yet fit enough to play Test cricket, some talk of a hernia that’s being managed). The Barbados Test in 2019 taught us that Curran is not “frontline” enough to be one of three seamers but fourth seamer batting at No7 could balance the side better. If not then yes, a spin-bowling all-rounder such as Ahmed looks the only other way to go.
Why is Ahmed not getting picked?
stewart99 asks: Why is Ahmed not getting picked, he looks to be a decent chance of being a no 6/7 batter and could mature into a serious spin option if he is given something approaching the support that Bashir has had?
Ali:
I was lucky enough to be in Rawalpindi in late 2022 when Rehan Ahmed claimed a five-wicket haul on his Test debut aged just 18 years and 126 days. At the time it felt like a star had been born.
Everything after that, however, was (rightly or wrongly) geared towards the Ashes and Ahmed’s low trajectory, and perhaps a better googly than leg-break at the time, saw them prefer to look the over-spin/off-breaks of Nathan Lyon via Shoaib Bashir – only to get cold feet at the last minute.
English cricket’s relationship with leg-spin is historically ropey and there has been an aversion to playing one at home. It seems to have continued this summer, and in a now inexperienced side, I wonder if they think he’s just not quite ready yet. Like you, I hope he gets his chance at some point though. The good thing is he’s still only 22, so plenty of time on his side.
Ali is live
Ali Martin is online now answering your questions about England’s cricketing future – and anything else cricket-related.
Welcome to the Conversation
Meet the new boss … same as the old boss? Next week Joe Root returns as England captain under new coach Stephen Fleming as the men’s team look to turn their summer around after defeat to New Zealand earlier in the summer as Ben Stokes dramatically announced his retirement and before Brendon McCullum was relieved of his duties.
Ali Martin will be here at 2pm BST on Friday 14 August to discuss the new shape of the team. Post any questions you might have below about England, the men and women’s Hundred season or anything else you’d like to ask our cricket correspondent.
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