It would not do to get too carried away. The first Test at Lord’s was exhilarating, a triumph, the sort of advertisement for the game – at a time of some turmoil – that money could not buy. The new chatter has been about Ben Stokes (saddled unfortunately with the obvious comparisons, as if being the first Ben Stokes is not in itself sufficient) and new dawns breaking for England cricket.
The New Zealand team played their part magnificently too, in a match conducted in a spirit a world away from some of the bruising, corrosive encounters of recent years, an example to all that it is not necessary to be gobby to be tough.
This England team is a young one, though, coming along nicely but still far from the finished, polished article. It may be in time, when they look back, that they come to realise this may just have been the finest game of cricket they will ever have played in. This team has real potential, but it would be unrealistic to expect them to successfully produce the kind of cricket they played at Lord’s on a regular basis.
There is likely to be a switchback still of highs and lows, peaks and troughs. Stokes’s uncomplicated approach to his cricket will mesmerise and inspire, but it needs to be recognised that while he will sometimes spark into pyrotechnics then occasionally he will splutter. Others can supply the dependability, while he is the rocket fuel. So enjoy what is clearly intent on becoming a vibrant team, and will unquestionably remain so under the forthcoming regime of Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace, but then try to understand when they falter, as they inevitably will.
The remarkable turnaround at Lord’s means that England now go to Headingley for the second Test in a position to dictate the terms. It is unfortunate that New Zealand have been allocated their tour as a preliminary to the cash-cow that is the Ashes: they deserve more than two Tests, that is certain. But now, if they are to gain anything from the series, and maintain a decent position in the rankings, they will have to go for broke. As if Brendon McCullum requires any encouragement in that regard.
It would be in his interest if England went for broke too, or at least responded in kind, rather than pull in their horns. Teams rarely set out with the intention of playing out a draw, and this England team is not about to start that, a dangerous road in any case. We could be in for some more cut and thrust, and we will all feel the better for that.
The England team came together as an entity at Lord’s, in part down to a little tinkering, and to the injection of pace from Mark Wood. Chris Jordan is a terrific young cricketer, but Wood was electrifying with the ball at times, a real threat and an element that had been missing. The telling changes came with the batting order.
In True Blue, Dan Topolski’s wonderful account of the Oxford University triumph in the 1987 Boat Race, having quelled a mutiny, he tells of a boat, sluggish in training for no apparent reason, that was transformed by a few switches in position, so that suddenly it sang along. Farbrace’s decision to put Stokes at six, Jos Buttler at seven and Moeen Ali eight, was an obvious one (Stokes is a batsman first and foremost; Buttler the natural successor to Matt Prior, and Moeen so ubiquitous it doesn’t much matter where he bats) but it still had to be done. The result brought terrific batting from all three – the boat really shifted.
If downsides were there, they came in the form of Adam Lyth’s twin failures (expect him to make amends very soon: he set about his job impressively); those of Gary Ballance; and the lack of rhythm that Moeen still has with the ball. There are some fundamental tenets of off-spin bowling, about more of which on another occasion, but suffice to say that he should never feel under any pressure to make things happen. OK, one precept: always make sure you get another over.
The wonderful start to Ballance’s Test career masks an essential flaw in his technique that good bowlers are starting to exploit. At first sight the inclination is to think that the manner in which he plays from deep in his crease, so he is no further forward than the front crease even when on the front foot, leaves his pads vulnerable and an obvious target particularly to any bowler who can swing the ball in to the left hander.
In point of fact, this rather appears to play into his hands, for although the bowler can pitch further up without getting driven, he has more time to monitor the swing. Move the ball away from him, though – either by a right-armer bowling across or someone like Trent Boult swinging away – and he can get into the sort of trouble that has bothered Alastair Cook over the past couple of years. He has some work to do.
The days of the capricious Headingley pitch are long gone, but it is still one of those grounds that seems to respond to the weather conditions more than most. If it is overcast, then there are occasions when the skill lies not in getting the ball to move but controlling it sufficiently to make it count. If the sun is out, though, batsmen can prosper.
The forecast for this match is mixed and when that happens, the trick is to take advantage of the moments. Given what happened in Barbados in the aftermath of the win in Grenada – real snakes and ladders cricket – then England will take nothing for granted. New Zealand will come at them hard. But Lord’s was uplifting and they will not readily have shaken off the feeling.
It could be a close call again, more see-sawing, more drama, but England are learning how to win now.
