Preventing the Abandonment of Fans from English Test Match Cricket

A letter to the English Cricket Board (ECB)

Dear ECB,

As a young person with a strong passion for watching cricket I wish to express my concern about the direction of travel for the Test team in the wake of Ben Stokes' retirement from international competition. I often hear that English cricket has always been in crisis but truly believe things are now at a tipping point now. If things do not drastically change around the unchecked ‘Baz ball’ approach to coaching and play, I think there is a real risk of the younger and newer generations losing any care for Test Match cricket in this country. I feel it is your moral duty to help people see the value in the sport of Test Match cricket, alongside but separately to ODI and T20 cricket.

I would like to propose three key changes which could help raise the value of Test Match cricket and ultimately prevent the abandonment of fans. These changes, which I will elaborate upon are: (1.) Reward those who chose to prioritise and who perform most in the County Championships, (2.) pick a new and more sensible head coach and captain, and (3.) re-introduce a primary 5-Test series each year, where 3 are played outside of London. 

With regards to my first point, 4 day County Championship matches are virtually identical in structure to Test Matches bar an extra day. Logically, those who are skilled in these longer format county games possess the clearest potential to perform in the English Test side. They are certainly going to need less time to adapt than those who spend less time playing in the County Championships and prioritise shorter formats and franchise cricket. 

Considering the personal economic benefits to be made from these versions of cricket, one can understand why many choose these routes. Nevertheless, one cannot deny that the more time and effort which is put into shorter formats makes it harder to adapt to longer formats. And, it is not just more sensible to pick those who spend more time playing longer formats but fairer to pick those who prioritise the sport before the money and stardom. Surely the sport has to come first.

‘Baz Ball’ is perhaps the epitome of an attitude driven by fast run scoring, something you expect of a T20 match and the latter overs of a 50 over match. Considering the terrible Ashes last winter against a beatable Australia team, and losing the final 2 games to a New Zealand team this year without all their first choice bowlers and without Kane Williamson, I think it's clear to most that this ‘Baz Ball’ approach has run its course. 

The tactics (or lack of) involved in continuous aggressive bat waving are in fact becoming a joke. In fact, when Harry Brook (playing bonkers shots as Baz Ball forces him to) was caught  in the last innings against New Zealand, you could hear the opposition exclaim “what are they doing?!” Patience is absolutely a necessary skill over 5 days of play and does get results. 

To return again to the most recent New Zealand series, the touring team may not have played the most expansive stuff but patient, sensible play, exemplified by Daryl Mitchel’s 100 off 241 balls, was successful. Scores in the England side like 21 runs of 9 balls on the other hand should never be seen early on in a Test Match innings. Such careless play sometimes works out but goes no way in developing consistent Test Match success. Such consistency with a more sensible approach in the long run will surely draw in and retain fans of either true five day battles or simply reliable success.

This brings me onto my second point around picking a new and more sensible head coach and captain. Brendon McCullen was no doubt a fabulous cricket player and knows how to manage people but it is apparent that he will never leave his ‘Baz Ball’ approach with the England side. If he stays in position, it seems likely he will replace the internationally-retired Ben Stokes with another figure who exemplifies his cavalier style. 

Someone like Harry Brook, backed by Ben Stokes, seems likely to take the captain’s reins in such a situation and this will only make English Test match cricket more of a laughing stock. When he is already the T20 and ODI captain, to elect him Test Match captain will actively demonstrate disregard for the dramatic differences from Test Matches. In reality, the responsibility of being the England Test Match captain should be a seen privilege which deserves to be treated as such, not just seen alongside being captain of the white ball sides.

Seeing as ‘Baz Ball’ appears to be the stand out problem, the new captain should be a proven longer-format leader, such as the Sussex captain, Ollie Robinson. Under such a captain, fans could then hope for the other players in the England Test side to start playing less radically. Playing more sensibly and predictably calmly should provide an atmosphere where fans can start expecting certain results. Yes, it was great how the ‘Baz Ball-” playing England performed against India in the most recent home 5-Test series, but it would be nice to see an England team, arguably superior in its talent, which doesn’t then surrender to beatable Australia and New Zealand teams in the next year.

To allow for the emergence of a more reliable team as I describe you can’t just do this with a change of captain. You also need a new coach who wants to return to something more controlled in England’s Test performance. At this point, my cricket knowledge starts to wane as I can’t immediately name a coach with a more sensible approach but I don’t imagine such a figure will be hard to find. 

I should clarify that it is not that Brendon McCullen is a bad coach. I am sure he would be an absolutely fantastic T20 or ODI coach, but as a Test coach he simply does not advocate for a reliable enough approach. I don’t think it is unreasonable to say that the unreliable success of ‘Baz Ball,’ where no-one has ever had a clue if the team should win or lose, has ultimately not built anything more than an atmosphere of uncertainty. Treating each Test Match so recklessly as a lottery certainly contributes to devaluing the format. 

Finally, the value and respect Test Match Cricket deserves could be improved by ensuring there is always a 5-Test series in England each summer. There is a whole debate over fairness between the North and South to be had, but this is not the primary reason I make this suggestion. Rather, making a bigger event of one series in particular heightens national focus and sense of value. 

The last Test series against India seemed like something which mattered and focused national attention on Test Cricket. I feel such focus has been lost this year with two 3-Test series, between which there is a notable gap. To then be able to tour a 5-Test series around 3 other Test match grounds outside of London (2 would take place at the Oval and Lords) would mean more fans could feel involved in the most valuable Test Cricket event of the year, not just one of 2 series. 

In response to the possible argument that it puts more pressure on the players in the Test side to perform in one series, surely this is no bad thing. Ensuring there is always one central series means that no single game can be treated with disrespect, a disrespect certainly seen in the last Test Match against New Zealand. In fact, with even more resting on longer series, greater accountability has to be taken for any reckless approaches which risk undoing more hard work. The idea of too much pressure being a bad thing is irrelevant here because the responsibility and privilege of playing for one’s country should feel like pressure.

Thank you greatly for having taken the time to read this letter. I am by no means an expert and there are countless many who know more than me. Nevertheless, I felt compelled to alert you, the ECB, to the ways in which fans like myself from the younger generation could quickly become disillusioned with the format. I hope you too can see how re-establishing and re-developing the format is crucial to ensuring there is no abandonment from the next generation. Furthermore, I hope that some of my suggestions for keeping Test Match Cricket valuable are useful. 

Kind Regards,

Alfie Yates (Leeds resident)