A country for young men: Ben Stokes gets England’s Test debutants shining

A tilt of the head towards the sky with both eyes closed. That’s how it ends, or rather, that’s how it begins. Shoaib Bashir became England men’s Test cap No 713 last week in Visakhapatnam and as is now customary he was presented with his dark-blue headpiece in a short but meaningful pre-match huddle on the outfield. The man to lead this one was Bashir’s Somerset teammate, Jack Leach.

“Trust me when I say, you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t fully deserve this … we can’t wait to watch you play … don’t forget to smile out there, that’s all the team needs from you and the rest will follow.”

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Bashir was clearly moved by the words from his fellow spinner, (one whose injury had opened up a spot in the starting XI) his long fingers visibly shaking while wiping away a sniffle as Leach spoke affectingly, haltingly, choking back a few emotions himself as he mentioned Bashir’s journey and the sacrifices he and his family had made in order to get to this point. There were no side jokes about visa issues to detract from the emotion; it was a touching moment, one Bashir will probably never forget.

The hugs and hand slaps afterwards were full of genuine warmth, the good vibes of the entire squad bouncing off each other like Teletubbies in a moshpit, the soft West Country burr and quietly rousing words from Leach left to ring around the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium like an epic poem or understated war cry. All of which is to say, who wouldn’t want to be a part of this England side right now?

Often when you speak to England players of the past one of the first things they are keen to stress is they wouldn’t swap their era for any other. “Keep your franchise riches and your smartphone scrutiny, we had it best in our day” type of thing. At points over the past decade it wasn’t that hard to believe them. It would be now.

The kinship and positive atmosphere cultivated by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum has won over plenty, including two of England’s most gnarled and grizzled Test captains of the modern era – Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain. Both are effusive about the current regime, no doubt recognising that the dressing rooms they ran were probably much tougher environments in which to make your debut.

Rob Key, managing director of England men’s cricket, tells a story about making his debut alongside Steve Harmison under Hussain’s captaincy in the 2002 Trent Bridge Test against India: “He [Hussain] shook my hand: ‘Well done Kent.’ He shook Harmy’s hand: ‘Well done Durham.’ And walked off.”

Twenty years later, December 2022, and Hussain is on the outfield in Karachi using a few more heartfelt words while presenting the teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed with his debut cap. Ahmed was about to become the youngest player to make an England men’s Test debut and his father, Naeem, was invited in to the huddled presentation. He listened to Hussain draw parallels between his own journey and that of Naeem and his boy.

“It’s a story I know well and I know what your old man has been through. The pride you must have in your heart this week watching your 18-year-old son playing cricket in the national stadium, Karachi, is incomparable.” Naeem Ahmed later described the presentation as “the best moment in my life”.

Michael Atherton presented his fellow Lancastrian Tom Hartley with his debut Test cap before the Hyderabad Test, saying: “This is the absolute best environment, under Ben and under Baz.” Hussain ended his speech in Karachi with the words, “I couldn’t think of a better set of lads and a better environment in which to start your journey.”

Stokes has often cited the second world war film Fury and the leadership qualities of tank commander Don “Wardaddy” Collier as inspiring the way he goes about things on and off the field. Played with some tenderness and much masculinity by Brad Pitt, all lantern jaw and slick-backed locks – a look Stokes has plumped for up until the recent buzzcut to accompany the tour of India – Don Collier’s men show him unquestioning loyalty and admiration. One of the main storylines of the film is how Collier shepherds a young “replacement” private called Norman through the realities and, ultimately, horrors of war. You don’t have to look particularly hard to see how Stokes has taken inspiration in the way he manages his own young charges.

Whether it be thrusting a new ball into his young spinners’ hands and asking them to open the bowling, telling them not to worry – and meaning it – when their first ball, their sixth ball and plenty of other balls are smoked into the stands. Backing them with attacking fields, keeping men around the bat and away from the boundary edge, beaming with something nearing paternal pride when they club a six of their own or hit a flurry of boundaries when promoted up the order to stub out any nerves at the fag end of a day’s play.

Hartley, Ahmed and Bashir have already done things in the Test arena that they will never forget and have all overcome adversity of some form in order to do so. They’ve had their feet held to the fire and come out the other side better off for it. Words are one thing, action is another. Under Stokes’s command, this England side are proving adept at both.

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