Ben Stokes' heroism at Headingly in 2019 led England to one of the greatest victories in Ashes history. Photo: Getty Images/Mike Egerton. say when the test summer starts today at Lord's.
Brandon McCallum and Ben Stokes have turned down a project that has received the backing of some senior figures at the England and Wales Cricket Board because they didn't want the the cameras interfered with the dressing room and potentially spoiled the momentum they had painstakingly created over the last 12 months.
McCallum has slashed backstage staff, so it's no wonder the last thing he wants is more people in the dressing room, especially those not from the band and foreign to the environment he's created since taking over.
This will help keep the mystique around their Test cricket revival formula and ensure players focus on the cricket and not the cameras. Australia will be followed by documentary makers again this summer and have already been the subject of two series of The Test, an Amazon Prime documentary featuring one of the images from the summer of 2019 when Justin Langer, their then head coach, kicked a wastebasket. through the locker room when the Stokes were winning at Headingley.
Today everyone remembers Ben Stokes' special serve at Ashes a year ago 💫
But never forget Justin Langer's trash can kick + cleanup bonus- up 😂#TheTest pic. twitter.com/sIOaxwkKpY
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) August 25, 2020
With Stokes and McCallum moving away from something like this, it's best to just enjoy what's happening right in front of you for the next six weeks, in part because there's a chance it might not last.
On In his first summer press conference, Stokes talked about the «journey» his team is on yet asked so many questions about his knee and his future as an all-round tester who knows what the future holds for him. He answered all the questions, and there were a lot of them, about the knee, without really giving anything away. He still hasn't revealed the exact nature of the problem.
Stokes is 31 but the body has aged far over the years, Johnny Bairstow is 33, Stuart Broad is 36 and then of course there is 40 year old James Anderson who is not playing this week but looks good in the nets for the first Ash. Test (and Mark Wood too). The collapse of this side is probably not far off, all the way to a natural rebirth, so Josh Tong will debut instead of the return of 34-year-old Chris Wax.
«/>Stokes (right) touched England's clean session at Lord's on Monday and didn't try to bowl. Photo: Getty Images/Philip Brown. will start on June 1st and end by July 31st, in a whirlwind of several weeks of six tests that provide plenty of twists and turns, making it understandable the interest from documentary filmmakers.
Rob Key said «buckle up and get ready for the ride» when he nominated McCallum and Stokes and it rings true this week when they'll be looking for a quick kill against Ireland so they can fully focus on Australia.
“This series of Ashes is only part of the journey that we have traveled and will continue after this series. If you look at it too deeply, like everything and the end, when the Ashes series is over, win or lose, it's like, «What are we going to do next?» Stokes said.
“This summer is part of something long and it's just another thing we got on our journey that we had. The best thing about this team is that we don't know the destination.”
Ireland is ill-prepared: since the pandemic they haven't played any first-class cricket domestically and have lost all six Tests they've played. . They even described this match as «not the pinnacle» as they are aiming for World Cup qualification instead, which is understandable given the money it can unlock.
There are county teams that are likely to put up the best resistance this week and this could be one of the greatest mismatches of all time. On the other hand, a frivolous attitude towards Ireland used to burn England.
England's prep for the summer hasn't been perfect
In the past, English teams have looked at this week as a chance to have some decent time in the centre, bat twice regardless of the situation in the match and overs in the legs.
It's not their style anymore and if they get ahead early it could be a fast one sided game rather than a freaky game like the match between these teams in 2019 which only lasted seven sessions.
England had not the smoothest start to summer. Bowlers have been injured, Joe Root hasn't played cricket seriously since February, Harry Brook has been expelled from the Indian Premier League as he experienced his first dip in form since taking the stage and Zach Crowley remains as fickle as ever.
Neither the captain nor the coach can understand where the pessimism can come from after such a beautiful victory in 10 out of 12 tests.
«I guess I find myself answering the same question as really 'will this continue?' But I think it's very clear that we've found a way to bring out the best in ourselves as an individual and as a team,» Stokes said.
“We always want to play this way, because we saw it as a success. You know it won't always work because you win games and you lose games, but what we've been able to do is find a formula that really works for the people that we have. This will not change because of the opposition.”
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