Ben Stokes has started England’s Ashes countdown, admitting ruthless selection decisions had to be made to build a team capable of winning in Australia.
England’s next tour Down Under is still 18 months away, but if there was any doubt that the captaincy was Stokes’ top priority, he dispelled it on the eve of the first Test against West Indies.
Wednesday’s match at Lord’s marks a turning point in Stokes’ tenure, with 41-year-old James Anderson making his farewell appearance after a record run of 187 Tests and 700 wickets.
But this is not the only significant change implemented by a management team comprising Stokes, head coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key.
Jonny Bairstow was dropped after exactly 100 appearances, wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was also overlooked and Jack Leach was dropped as first-choice spinner.
England are instead making a calculated bet on the future, with debutant Jamie Smith, best known for his batting power, taking the gloves, fellow newcomer Gus Atkinson getting the chance to audition for a role in the new-look close-range attack, and Shoaib Bashir replacing Leach, despite failing to displace him with Somerset at county level.
And Stokes made it clear that the restructuring was carried out with one main goal in mind: to defeat the old enemy for the first time since 2015.
“Look at where we need to be in 18 months in Australia. We want to win back that ballot box,” he said.
“We don’t want to stand still. I want the team to continue to try as hard as they can.”
“I don’t think ‘restart’ is the right word for what we did, but when you’re in a position where you have to make decisions, it all comes down to what we think is best for the team.”
“Sometimes you have to put personal relationships and things aside. I’m sure there will be decisions that people won’t understand or might be frustrated with, and that’s something I’m absolutely OK with and I completely understand.”
Stokes paid glowing tribute to the outgoing Anderson, describing him as “the total package” and “an incredible ambassador for fast bowling”, but was equally keen to praise some of the newer faces in the dressing room.
Smith and Bashir have made quicker careers at international level than in domestic cricket, but Stokes is undeterred in following his instincts with them.
“In an ideal world, it would be nice if the players selected for the Test team also took on those roles for their countries,” he said.
“Jamie and Bash are here, obviously in a different role to what they have played for the counties so far, but I don’t think that’s too much of a problem because they’re both top-class players.”