Four years to the day after England’s first Test under Brendon McCullum began against New Zealand at Lord’s, the start of a summer when players reached new heights and observers reached for new words to describe them, the latest incarnations of the two teams gathered in St John’s Wood as preparations ramped up for the rematch. Once again the series will begin amid talk of England adopting a fresh approach.
In 2022 New Zealand batted first in all three games and in all three England chased down testing targets to seal victory. The attacking approach McCullum instigated that summer was embodied most memorably by Jonny Bairstow. In more than a century of Test cricket before that year (not counting the early years of the game, when that kind of data was not gathered) only three English players had scored more than 300 runs in a series at a strike rate above 85. In only four years since another 10 have joined their number, a list topped by Bairstow against the Kiwis in 2022, when he rampaged to 394 runs at a strike rate of 120.12. That figure has been bettered only once, and even then marginally, in cricket history, though the 330 runs at 121.32 banked by Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi against India in 2006 were largely down to his contributions to a pair of high-scoring draws on batting-friendly pitches.
“It was a really memorable series,” McCullum said on Tuesday. “We had a couple of big run chases and we took them on and we were prepared to fail in the pursuit of victory at that point in time. From where we were when we took over, to us trying to take on those totals and to be able to ultimately chase them down, was huge. Jonny doing what he did and the style of cricket that we played, that was what was required at that point in time.
“Now what’s required is for us to evolve slightly – still recognise the identity we want to play with, but to evolve slightly. And I think I’ve identified a lot of those areas, which we’re working on. New Zealand’s a better team than when they came here a few years ago, I think. We know they’re going to do things really well for a long period of time. Our job is to find a way to be able to compete with that style, yet also disrupt it when we’ve earned the right to be able to do so. It’s a fascinating series. Again, two different styles, but we’ll see where we land.”
England’s post-Ashes reboot means that for the second time in two visits New Zealand arrive with some uncertainty over the approach England are going to take against them. “I don’t know if they’re calling it a [new] version of their play but I think you’re always trying to assess where you’re at as a team and how you get a little bit better. No doubt that’s something they’re thinking about, as we are constantly,” said Kane Williamson, who captained New Zealand in 2022 and is one of nine members of that squad who have returned this year under Tom Latham’s captaincy.
“You’re wanting to keep evolving as a side and getting the best out of what you have, amongst the changes that come over time. [In 2022] it was a stark difference, one of the first series where they did change considerably their play, and [there were] three incredible games of cricket and three successful ones for England. So, yeah, it’s difficult. You can’t control what other people do, but it’s about what we do and that’s where our focus will be.”
Last week McCullum spoke about a desire to “finish the job we started” four years ago. The question as he builds his new England, at the most familiar of Test venues, with a largely familiar team and against familiar opponents – to the New Zealander most of all – is what completion may look like.
“You’re trying to build something which is long-term, sustainable and successful, right? Something that outlasts the time that you’re here in the post,” he said. “I went down to Beckenham the other day [where the Lions were playing South Africa A in an unofficial Test]. To see some of that young talent, you know … They’re the future of English cricket. They’re going to carry this team forward for 15, 16 years.
“Our job is to embed an identity, so when they get the opportunity to come in they’re able to allow that talent to flourish on this stage. That’s what you’re trying to build. You’re trying build a team which ultimately is successful, wins the big series, does it with an identity and a style of play, but is also the smartest team in the world when it comes to tactics and implementing those.” The cricket McCullum is encouraging now might be slightly less bold than it was four years ago, but the same cannot be said of his ambitions.
