Breaking down how England learned to Baz-bowl
Never mind the skyscraping run rates, England under Stokes-McCullum are intent on taking 20 wickets
Alan Gardner
15-Jun-2023
Stuart Broad and James Anderson have remained key bowlers in the new regime • Getty Images
The ankle injury that befell James McCollum at Lord's a fortnight ago was unfortunate for a number of reasons - depriving the Ireland opener of valuable Test experience, as well as leaving No. 8 Andy McBrine stranded in sight of a maiden hundred and a place on the honours board. Less significantly, because England still went on to complete a comfortable win, it meant that for the first time under Ben Stokes the bowlers had failed to take all ten wickets in an innings.
Ireland were all out, of course, which is the statistic that matters. But McCollum retiring hurt ended a run of 24 innings across 13 Tests in which England had rounded up ten wickets; the only time they hadn't taken 20 in a match coincidentally also came at Lord's in an innings defeat to South Africa last August. This century, only South Africa had managed a longer streak (25 consecutive innings between 2017 and 2018).
If skyscraping run rates have been the most arresting feature of England's approach under Stokes and Brendon McCullum, no less important has been a hitherto-lacking cutting edge with the ball - a commitment to wicket-taking that has seen them find a way everywhere from Mount Maunganui to Multan.
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In batting, the old adage says, "It's not about how, but how many." England have subverted that with their bowling plans. The "how many" is non-negotiable - 20 wickets to win a Test - but the "how" is the crux of the matter. Whether it is through stacking the slips, introducing spin inside the first hour or switching to a short-ball bombardment, Stokes has refused to let games drift in a manner that England captains past have been guilty of.
Old guard, new approach
Under Stokes, England's three most successful bowlers have been James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach. Given they have close to 1300 Test wickets between them, those first two names are not hugely surprising - but it should be remembered neither was involved in the series prior to Stokes taking over as captain, a 1-0 defeat in the Caribbean.
Stokes has himself taken 20 wickets - but only two since the end of last summer, amid questions about whether he is still a viable all-round option. And although Mark Wood has only played twice, his extra pace contributed to victories in Multan and Karachi as England maintained their threat in some of the most inhospitable bowling conditions imaginable.
Problems still to solve
England's new Test blueprint, of fast-forward batting and front-foot bowling on true surfaces, arguably moves them away from what has been a position of strength at home - where touring sides, including Australia over the last two decades, have struggled to cope in seaming conditions. Stokes has been public in his request for "fast, flat pitches" but, as Josh Hazlewood pointed out this week, Australia will be confident of tilting that to their advantage.
There is also the small matter of Australia being able to deploy the top three Test batters in the world, according to the updated ICC rankings. Travis Head has limited experience in England at the highest level, but comes into the series on the back of a scintillating - and Bazball-esque - innings of 163 in the World Test Championship final, while Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are old foes. Ollie Pope has hinted that England might have some "quirky" plans for Smith, in particular, but they have attempted to funk with his head before, with little success (in 2019, they had him caught in the leg trap at The Oval, in his final innings - having seemingly been trying for the dismissal all series).
Over the course of the next six-and-a-half weeks, Stokes and his bowlers will be looking to maintain their immaculate record and bowl Australia out ten times. Such is the strength of Australia's attack, even that might not be enough to guarantee reclaiming the Ashes - but it's not a bad place to start.
With stats inputs from Shiva Jayaraman
Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick