It’s the start of a new era up at Trent Bridge although, at a glance, it looks a lot like the old era. There’s a solitary change to England’s winning line-up from Lord’s, albeit a significant one, as James Anderson takes his leave of the team after 188 appearances and 21 years. But if you thought the future starts here and now, then the recent past wants to have a word with you.
Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, with their venerable combined age of 69, were England’s winning formula in the latter half of last summer’s epic Ashes, particularly when they combined in the crucial third Test at Headingley; raw pace on the one hand, incisive swing and nibble on the other, not to mention their cool-headed marshalling of a fraught run-chase on the fourth afternoon.
Here they are once more, then, back as the continuity candidates in an England bowling attack that will be lacking both Anderson and Stuart Broad in a home Test for the first time since West Indies at Edgbaston in 2012. Ironically both players were subbed out of that 2012 game with an eye to the future too, as the selectors took the chance to assess the attack-leading potential of Steven Finn, Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions, all three of whom went on to retire before either of the main protagonists.
No such leaps of faith are being made this time around. While Matthew Potts and the uncapped Dillon Pennington wait patiently in the wings, England are falling back in the first instance on one of the core tenets of the Stokes-McCullum era: continuity of selection and faith in your chosen campaigners. Wood may have endured a tricky time across all three formats this winter, including four wickets in three Tests in India, but England need no reminding of his visceral power when the conditions are in his favour; nor of Woakes’ prowess on home soil, as last summer’s Compton-Miller Medal amply attests.
Wood had not been an original inclusion in the squad, after his involvement in the T20 World Cup. However, his recall is arguably informed by Gus Atkinson‘s startling performance at Lord’s. Debut figures of 12 for 106 were hugely impressive in their own right, but the discipline in Atkinson’s performance was an additional factor, as he charged through the crease to hammer out a relentless line and length, pushing 90mph in every spell while offering no let-up to a becalmed West Indian batting line-up. With Wood at the other end, scattering a few pigeons with his extra mph, England’s stated aim of prepping for the next Ashes tour could well get a kick-start in the coming days.
For West Indies, there’s no easy route back into contention, though that has often been the case on recent England tours. Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder will remember the circumstances of their fightback on the 2017 tour, when they succumbed to another crushing innings loss in the series opener at Edgbaston only to bounce back with a sensational run-chase at Headingley, while there has been plenty chat in the intervening days about the miracle at Brisbane back in January.
But, with respect to an incisive bowling attack that refused to allow England to run away with the game at Lord’s, it’s all about the batting for West Indies this week. Worryingly, it was hard to point many fingers of blame in that first Test. Brathwaite, their linchpin, endured a fallow game, which did not help, but from Mikyle Louis on debut to the obvious talents of Alick Athanaze, the patches of composure that they showcased were all too often undermined by lapses that screamed, more than anything else, of a lack of experience at this level.
There’s no easy fix, other than learning on the job and hoping that England offer an opportunity to get a toe-hold in the game – perhaps, as Joshua da Silva suggested, by over-reaching themselves in their eagerness to experiment for the Ashes. But given how stung Ben Stokes was by the suggestion, before Lord’s, that England’s failure to win a Test series in 18 months would be a factor in a more win-at-all-costs attitude in this series, the totality of that Lord’s display was ominous in the extreme. More of the same would appear to be the message. It will have been an astonishing shock for the ages if the teams arrive at Edgbaston next week with series all-square.
Form guide
England WLLLL (last five Tests, most recent first) West Indies LWLDL
In the spotlight: Gus Atkinson and Kraigg Brathwaite
What’s for the main course, Gus? In a single Test appearance at Lord’s, Gus Atkinson landed not only the fourth-best figures by a Test debutant in history, but bettered each and every one of James Anderson’s 188 Test-match analyses. If he thought his team’s new bowling mentor would be a tough act to follow, then he’s somehow raised the stakes for himself as well. The good news for Atkinson and England is that his phlegmatic character seems to be matched by an equally uncomplicated approach. He kept it simple and direct at Lord’s; a lot of scrambled-seam deliveries on a probing full length, keeping the stumps in play at all times, except when he fizzed in the sort of rib-tickler that dislodged Jason Holder on the second evening. As Lord’s debuts go, it couldn’t have been further removed from Anderson’s first visit way back in 2003, when the magic that delivered him his five-for against Zimbabwe also spoke of a fragility that would be exposed fairly ruthlessly by South Africa later that summer. Even if his subsequent returns don’t live up to this first billing, it’s hard to see Atkinson veering far from what he does best.
If West Indies are to gain any traction in this series, they desperately need their senior campaigners to step up. Kraigg Brathwaite did just that at Headingley in 2017, making 134 and 95 as Shai Hope’s under-sung sidekick, and again on home soil two years ago, when another painstaking hundred at Barbados set his side up for their series-sealer in Grenada. But for all his obdurate qualities, he has managed one half-century in 16 innings since the most recent of his 12 Test hundreds, against Zimbabwe in February 2023. Maybe the loose nature of his first-innings dismissal at Lord’s – hacking outside off at Atkinson’s second ball – will be the jolt he needs to double down on his crease occupation. Either way, he will need support to drag his side back into contention, and few know better than Holder what that can entail. Though he did his bit with the ball at Lord’s, he was picked off cheaply by Atkinson in each innings. Maybe some of that muscle-memory from his brutal double-century in Bridgetown 2019 can flex back to the fore. For his team’s sake, it might need to.
Team news: Wood returns to the fold
Just the one change for England after their innings win at Lord’s. Anderson has been moved sideways, into his bowling mentor role, and into his place comes the thrusting new kid on the block, Wood, who is back in the ranks for his first red-ball outing since the tour of India in March. At the age of 34, he’s hardly representative of England’s long-term future, but he does have two-and-a-bit years left on his three-year contract, and with the Ashes very much on the selectors’ minds, he probably does warrant a spin to keep him fresh. Shoaib Bashir retains his slot as the lone spinner, despite not bowling a single over at Lord’s. Pennington and Potts must wait in line for an opportunity, as Woakes takes the new ball, and presumably his choice of ends for the first time in a home Test, alongside Atkinson. Ben Duckett, whose wife is due to give birth this week, may yet be a late omission. Dan Lawrence is on standby.
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Shoaib Bashir
West Indies had concerns over Shamar Joseph, who appeared to suffer a hamstring niggle at Lord’s, but it transpires it was just cramp, so he retains his place in an unchanged line-up. His nominal replacement would have been the uncapped Jeremiah Louis – brother of Mikyle – who could have made it two St Kitts players in the West Indies line-up in as many Tests, after none in their first 96 years.
Pleasant sunny conditions for the first two days of the Test are expected to give way to a slightly more drizzly weekend, although nothing apocalyptic seems to be on the horizon. With 24 hours to go, the pitch appeared to still have a tinge of live grass on the surface, although there’s time yet for a final shave.
Stats and trivia: Broad from the Pavilion End?
Chris Woakes will be playing in his 50th Test.
As if England’s bowlers need any more reminders of their former team-mates’ glories, the Pavilion End at Trent Bridge, the scene of that legendary 8 for 15 in 2015, will be officially renamed in honour of Stuart Broad before the start of the first day’s play.
Joe Root, currently on 11,804 Test runs, needs 11 more to overtake Mahela Jayawardene at No.9 in the all-time list, and is within touching distance of two West Indies’ greats at Nos.7 and 8 as well, Brian Lara (11,953) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11,867).
Quotes
“When I first saw Gus live in the World Cup in India, he just had all the attributes of a very, very good bowler. There has not been that much movement in the air with the new [Dukes] ball. It’s generally been off the surface, hitting the seam and Gus is a very good exponent of that. At 10-12 overs, you get a buff on one side and that is when it really starts to swing, so that is where me and Woody come in. Woody bowling at 94mph with the ball swinging is going to be tough for anyone.” Ben Stokes explains the rationale behind Gus Atkinson’s promotion to a new-ball role
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
