Selection.
It is, and always will be, the most important part of constructing a cricket team. You can have all the plans and philosophies you like but without the players to carry them out, you will struggle.
England’s selection in Test cricket has been largely successful since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes became head coach and captain respectively three years ago.
Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have turned around England’s Test side since being appointed in 2022
Results have improved while players such as Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith have entrenched themselves in the side ahead of an Ashes year.
Stokes, McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key have been joined on the player-picking panel by Luke Wright since the latter’s appointment as national selector in November 2022.
Wright guested on the Sky Cricket Podcast to disclose how the system works, busting some myths about selection along the way.
County stats vs gut feel
The ex-England and Sussex all-rounder dismissed the notion that the national set-up “disregard” county cricket after batter Jacob Bethell, spinner Shoaib Bashir and pace bowler Josh Hull all made their debuts with limited first-class experiences and success.
Wright namechecked Essex seamer Sam Cook – who appears set for a first England chance this summer ahead of a potential Ashes place in the winter – as someone who would be picked on domestic stats after bagging his 318 first-class wickets at a superb 19.77.
Sam Cook has hoovered up wickets for Essex at domestic level and is on England’s radar
He told Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain: “To say we don’t value county cricket is not right – but you go on gut feel sometimes.
“Some people will be picked on county cricket – Cook, who we have never not thought about, has been phenomenal – or you might see a raw talent like Bethell and think, ‘this guy is ready to go’. It depends on what position you are looking for.
“Let’s be fair, with spin we were lacking a lot of options so we had to think outside the box. It’s why there was an extensive training camp in the UAE, a trial by spin, if you like.
“Pick as many spinners as you can, dust up the wickets, and put people under pressure. From that Bashir was the one we thought was most exciting. We were almost forced to take a punt.
Shoaib Bashir (right) has become first-choice spinner in the Test team
“You can’t ignore stats but you can only tell so much from them.
“Sometimes people aren’t getting many runs but you can see something in them – like Michael Vaughan [back in the day]. Other times someone is banging the door down but when you watch them, they don’t look quite right for international cricket.”
‘Playing short ball hugely important at international level’
Bazball has been the buzzword of this England era.
It is not used within the dressing room – the team do not like it – but it is regularly used by media to describe the aggressive, entertaining and, at times, reckless style of play that has made England absorbing to watch, whether firing or malfunctioning.
McCullum and Stokes have always insisted there is more nuance to just blasting boundaries and Wright elaborated on what the selectors search for in a batter.
“You look at whether they have a good enough technique to keep the ball out and then if they can put the pressure back on and hit the ball at the top of the bounce.
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Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain assess whether players dropped by England should be given a second chance if they have made improvements to their game
“In international cricket you know the pace goes up as well as the quality of spin. Playing the short ball at international level is a hugely important thing.
“For Bethell, it was watching him in The Hundred facing Jofra Archer at 90mph.
“You have seen enough in county cricket with technique to think there is a hell of a player here but what’s it like under pressure and pace he might not get in county cricket.
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Sky Sports’ Ian Ward was one of many onlookers impressed by Jacob Bethell’s debut Test series in New Zealand in December, with the Warwickshire youngster hitting three fifties
‘Talent only gets you so far – it’s about character’
“There is a misconception a player has to run down the wicket and smack it but a lot of the messaging is ‘play your best game’. We found that with Joe Root.
“He went through a period trying to be what he wasn’t but what he can do is put bowlers under pressure in his own way?
“It’s not that a player who bats time isn’t going to be picked but can they add to their game? I have explained what so-called Bazball looks like and that you can be the best version of yourself.”
Wright added that character is also crucial to selection: “Talent gets you so far but we have all seen lots of talented players get to the international level and crumble.
England quick Gus Atkinson has taken 52 wickets in 11 Tests, including a hat-trick, since making his debut last summer
“So, on England Lions tours [the rung below the senior England side] I go as a coach. I want to be in the nets and changing room as that gives me a great insight.
“You see how players react to a couple of low scores, see their training, and that is something Baz [McCullum] is big on. That gives me a rounded view.
“I think that’s a big reason for the success stories of Josh Tongue, Atkinson, Brydon Carse and others who have gone into the environment and performed well.”
Crawley’s Ashes displays ‘give him more time’
Talk, perhaps inevitably, turned to opener Zak Crawley, who has averaged 15.14 in 14 innings since a score of 76 against West Indies last summer and just 8.66 on the tour of New Zealand in December when Matt Henry had him on toast.
England opener Zak Crawley averaged 8.66 on the New Zealand tour
However, Crawley averages over 40 against Australia and that is one of the reasons England look set to keep faith – for now at least.
Wright added: “I’m sure Zak would be the first one to say he wants to be more consistent but what he has done is play well against the best teams in the world.
“He was under pressure going into that Ashes series in 2023 and to perform as he did and show the mental resilience gives him more time. That’s the way it should be.
“It’s my job to push who else is out there as you should feel under pressure and it is nice to go into meetings talking about three, four, five batters doing well.”
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