Who says Test cricket isn’t entertaining? This England team are the hottest ticket in town.
When England fans woke up on a bitterly cold December morning for the first day of the historic Test trip to Pakistan they had absolutely no idea what would greet them. There was every chance the start of the series in Rawalpindi would be pushed back a day due to a horrible 24-hour bug sweeping through the English camp. They could have fielded a much-changed scrambled XI from anybody not racing to the toilet with freakish regularity.
But even the most optimistic supporter would have been forgiven for thinking they were still deep in dream land after a history-breaking day which saw records tumble.
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England are on their first Test tour of the country since 2005 due to security fears after the Sri Lankan team bus was ambushed back in 2009. You wouldn’t blame the poor Pakistani bowlers for wishing they didn’t have to see the visiting batters for another 17 years.
The long-awaited return was marked in fine style as England racked up an incredible 506/4, the highest ever score on the opening day of a Test match.
The records were smashed on what was a golden day in England’s cricketing history. This side are truly transforming the sport in both the white-ball and red-ball arenas and we are privileged enough to be experiencing it.
It’s the fastest a team has ever reached 500 and they were just three runs shy of the highest ever score in a day. If it wasn’t for the umpires intervening to stop the carnage, like a referee in a boxing bout, for bad light then England could have plundered punch-drunk Pakistan for 600.
This is England’s Test-cricket revolution and the first overseas voyage for the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes ship began with a bang and who knows what might be on the horizon?
Have England cracked cricket? Let’s not forget they are also dual white-ball world champions after adding the T20 crown to their stunning 2019 triumph in the 50-over format just last month.
Huge props must be given to the forgotten man behind this year’s red-ball reset…Rob Key. His influence has, pardon the pun, been key to the success of the side since he took over as managing director of the men’s team back in April. Key seemed a rogue choice, but the proof is in the pudding. He is the man at the top and there is plenty sweet about what this England team is achieving.
He was the one who secured McCullum’s statement appointment, which was a huge coup for the ECB. He also oversaw the hiring of Matt Mott, who led England to World T20 glory after winning the women’s 50-over World Cup with Australia earlier this year. Another huge get.
England are well on their way to becoming cricket’s dominant force in all forms of the game and a lot of that is down to Key’s presence. He plays a pivotal part. But you can only get the pieces of the puzzle in play, it’s up to the players to complete the jigsaw.
And this era of English cricket is the greatest marketing campaign the sport needs to inspire the next generation of Test stars. The amount of time and money that has been ploughed into devising confusing reincarnations of the beautiful game when all you need is a good product beggars belief. Investment doesn’t always mean throwing millions of pounds at new fancy formats or idiotic ideas.
The stars of this run-fest show all came through a county system many believed was broken and want to slash beyond all recognition. Going even further, openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, authors of two of England's four first-day centuries, are byproducts of counties which would cease to exist if a callous city-based franchise red-ball Championship, which has been touted, came to fruition.
McCullum has stuck with Crawley through some torrid times this summer when he averaged a painful 17.25 from 12 innings before a potentially career-saving 69 not out in the final knock of the season at the Oval. The ECB could take a leaf out of his book and leave the 18-team competition alone. The New Zealander has backed the man and this could be the catalyst to providing the payoff people have long expected from the talented Kent batter.
For Crawley, he can put his feet up as Harry Brook and Stokes — who somehow upped the scoring rate with his 34 off just 15 balls — look to continue the onslaught on the second day.
If the runs keep flowing then Sri Lanka’s world record 952, from 25 years ago, could be in sight. The ball’s in your court, boys.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
