England’s first Test of the summer, a four-day match against Ireland at Lord’s, is three weeks away. The Ashes starts at Edgbaston in 36 days. million
On the surface of it, many of their players are not enjoying what might have been conventionally considered ideal preparation.
A summary of those at the Indian Premier League: the captain, Ben Stokes, is fit again, but unable to break into the Chennai Super Kings XI; Joe Root recently made his IPL debut, but has not batted in a match since February; Harry Brook made one century and a few low scores for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and was dropped; Jofra Archer has come home, sore and in need of rest; Mark Wood is in the same boat as Stokes, but will be returning home soon for the birth of his second child.
There are two rounds of Championship action before the Tests, so what of those at home playing county cricket? Jonny Bairstow is only just back after eight months on the sidelines, has been dropped down to No 7 (due to two nightwatchmen) and left stranded 20 not out, then promoted to No 3 in a chase, and made a duck, so will want a score at Durham this week. Olly Stone is awaiting the results of a scan on a hamstring injury, but – like Saqib Mahmood – is by no means a guaranteed starter for his county.
Meanwhile Ollie Robinson’s early season was disrupted by pain in his back, which required an injection. Having bowled truly beautifully across 45 overs at Worcester last week, he is rested for this round. As he seems to periodically, Ben Foakes has also sat out a game with a back injury.
Some are bubbling away nicely. Ollie Pope, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes clearly feel comfortable enough in their preparation that they are taking a rest from Championship action this week. Jimmy Anderson has looked in fine fettle for Lancashire.
Zak Crawley has been his consistently inconsistent self, while Ben Duckett and Jack Leach will prepare by playing every game for their counties, like old times. Stokes has been clear with them that they are free to manage their own preparation, playing as much as they please.
Certainly questions loom about the make-up of the side. A strength of England’s new management over the last year has been that they cross bridges not a moment too soon. But the moment to decide how, with the return of Bairstow, eight candidates fit into a top seven is looming.
Crawley at the top and Foakes at the bottom seem the most obvious drop-outs. On performance and his record, Crawley would be the man to go, but that would require far more creative thinking. It is not simple, and there is still time for an injury.
Which is where we come to Stokes. Perhaps it is not such a bad thing that CSK are playing on what their batting coach Mike Hussey describes as turning pitches, leading to Stokes’ omission at the expense of an extra spin option since he returned from a toe injury. It is a curious situation for most English observers: Stokes cost CSK £1.6 million at the auction less than six months ago and, while he is not the force in T20 cricket he is in Tests, he still won last year’s World Cup final for England and is, well, Stokes.
But, rather than play, he trains (“really well,” according to Hussey), then sits on the bench wearing designer sunglasses. While he does that, his toe is not at risk, and his chronic left knee injury gets a little more rest, perhaps meaning a few more overs this summer. With just two games to go before he was due to return from the IPL anyway, it seems likely that he will go into the Ireland Test having not played for two months.
He will not mind that. Before the tours of Pakistan and New Zealand this winter, he did not bat or bowl a ball in anger in England’s warm-up matches, and handed the reins to Pope. He manages himself, so do not expect him to jet back earlier than scheduled to play for Durham in Bristol next week. Yes, there is a risk he goes in undercooked but he knows as well as anyone. Only time will tell.
The Australians are in a similar position. Some are limbering up in county cricket, some are at the IPL, others are doing very little. Pat Cummins has not bowled in a match since February 18, and has since endured the trauma of the passing of his mother, Maria. Based on a podcast he did this week with Rio Ferdinand – unusual tie-up, yes – that prolonged period of rest, and the physical freshen up it should provide, might make him even more dangerous than before.
They will prepare for the World Test Championship final with a golf trip to Merseyside and a camp in Beckenham. The WTC final makes Australia’s schedule even more congested than England’s, with a maximum 31 days of Test cricket scheduled in 53 days. Little wonder they have not got time for a game against a single county. In that sense, and many others, this is Ashes preparation like never before.
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