Gus Atkinson latest debutant to thrive under Ben Stokes - this is why

Fifteen minutes before noon at Lord’s, James Anderson shared a few words with Gus Atkinson. Twenty-one years ago, Anderson played his first Test, taking five wickets at Lord’s; now, in his very final Test match, he advised Atkinson about his own debut.

Yet Atkinson did not have to look as far back as Anderson for examples of what England debutants can achieve. Since Ben Stokes became captain two years ago, four men – Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Josh Tongue and Tom Hartley – have taken five-wicket hauls in their first Test before Atkinson joined him with seven of his own.

All have benefited from the culture that Stokes has created, with new players empowered and encouraged to believe in the skills that have got them this far. In January, Hartley was pummelled on his first day in Test cricket, yet given a nine-over spell even as he was thrashed for 63 runs. Three days later, he took seven wickets to bowl England to victory.

A Test against West Indies’s brittle batting line-up in home conditions was a far less arduous debut. Atkinson also had another advantage: rarely have first England Test caps been accompanied by less scrutiny, with Anderson monopolising the pre-match interest at Lord’s.

When he was introduced into the attack in the 11th over, Atkinson was greeted by the aggressive fields that have been Stokes’s hallmark, especially for debutants. Alongside three slips, Atkinson was also given a leg gully: a sign of the pace that convinced England to pick him.

It was immediately on show. Atkinson reached 89mph in his first delivery as a Test cricketer; his second, fractionally slower, induced Kraigg Brathwaite to inside-edge the ball onto his stumps.

As Atkinson punched the air and broke into a beaming smile, here was immediate vindication for the idea that underpinned his selection: attributes over averages. Essentially, England have learned that County Championship records are a poor predictor for how players will perform in Test cricket.

Instead, England’s selection is instead informed by a combination of judgement and very different numbers. For Hartley and Bashir, it was their height and high release point, which was central to their selection to tour India. For Atkinson, like Tongue, it was pace.

In county cricket, bowling quicker often isn’t better. A lack of bounce can render extra speed superfluous. So does pragmatism, given the demands of the schedule. On the seaming pitches that are the norm, it is generally much more effective to pare back the speed and then rely upon a scintilla of movement to do the rest.

When it comes to taking wickets in domestic cricket, Atkinson has amassed a record that is little more than solid. After suffering a series of injuries and then struggling to break into Surrey’s illustrious side, Atkinson is already 26, yet playing just his 20th first-class match. He arrived at Lord’s with a fine, but hardly outlandish, record: 59 wickets at 27.4 for Surrey. In five Championship games this season, Atkinson has only 14 wickets at 29.8.

Yet England have long known better than to judge players on such simple metrics. The demands to succeed in County Championship and Test cricket have perhaps never been so far removed: these are different games.

It makes sense for Surrey to pick Ben Foakes as their wicketkeeper ahead of Jamie Smith; it makes sense for England to do the opposite. It makes sense for Somerset to pick Jack Leach over Shoaib Bashir; it makes sense for England to do the opposite. And it makes sense that Essex’s Jamie Porter has more wickets at a lower average, strike rate and economy rate than Atkinson this summer, yet England were in no doubt about which one to pick.

Like nostalgia, Test debuts aren’t what they used to be. County umpires now have cameras attached to their chests, recording the speeds, deviation and bounce of every ball. Expert scouts compile dozens of reports on the techniques and temperament of players of interest to England. Most future England Test players graduate through the Lions programme; Atkinson did not, but had still played 12 white-ball internationals before his five-day debut.

Yet, for all England’s knowledge of Atkinson, there remains an unknowable quality to how anyone will fare in Test cricket. Brathwaite’s wicket was the prelude to an opening act as a Test cricketer straight from the theatre of the absurd: 7-45 in 12 overs.

Atkinson’s pace, reaching 90.4mph, was no surprise; indeed, he is a little slower than he was hyped last summer, after being clocked at 95mph on some apparently over-exuberant speedguns during the Hundred. But he showed even greater skill than envisaged.

For all his differences as a bowler to Anderson, Atkinson has learned from one of the Lancastrian’s most venomous balls - the wobble seam, which can move in either direction after pitching. The ball induced left-handers Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaze to edge to the slips, succumbing to deliveries that moved down the slope from Atkinson’s over the wicket line, a contrast to the modern trend of bowling around the wicket.

Greeting Alzarri Joseph by rattling his helmet first ball was a graphic illustration of Atkinson’s pace. Yet much more is required to thrive in Test cricket. As Atkinson settled into a good length from his 6ft 2in height, avoiding becoming too reliant upon his short ball, his method suggested a bowler who can thrive against much less hospitable batting. Atkinson’s essential approach, indeed, was not far removed from that of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who largely eschew swing in favour of pounding out a length relentlessly and generating seam. These men, rather than the fool’s gold of being cast as an enforcer, should be Atkinson’s template.

The crowd had packed into Lord’s to acclaim England’s 613th Test cricketer. A few minutes before three o’clock, the long room stood to celebrate the 714th. Both men are undemonstrative; you suspect that Atkinson will, like Anderson, have to get used to the attention.

Wicket-by-wicket breakdown as Atkinson explodes onto Test scene

Wicket one: Kraigg Brathwaite b Atkinson 6

Atkinson is not a particularly demonstrative type. When he replaced Anderson from the Pavilion End, with West Indies 34-0 after 10 overs, Atkinson showed no sign of the nervous tension sometimes associated with debutants, beginning with an 89mph delivery on off stump. His second ball was not quite as good, a little wide. But as Kraigg Brathwaite moved to cut the ball, he was suckered by Lord’s low bounce, and inside-edged the ball onto his stumps. A contented smile revealed that Atkinson had reduced the gap with Anderson’s Test wicket tally to a mere 699.

Wicket two: Kirk McKenzie c Crawley b Atkinson 1

Resisting the modern trend to go around the wicket to left-handers, Atkinson continued from over the wicket against Kirk McKenzie. Under clouds at Lord’s, he recognised that lateral movement was a much greater threat than bounce. Angling the ball across McKenzie, Atkinson used his wobble seam grip – holding the ball wide of the seam, enabling it to move in either direction of the pitch. The line compelled McKenzie to play at the ball; the seam movement claimed the edge to Zak Crawley at second slip. Atkinson had yet to concede a run in Test cricket, but already had two wickets.

Wicket three: Alick Athanaze c Root b Atkinson 23

Into his second spell - again from the Pavilion End - Atkinson continued with his over the wicket line of attack against left-handers. Alick Athanaze, who had looked West Indies’ most accomplished batsman, was forced into playing at another awkward delivery across him. There was pace and a little bounce, yes - but, more than anything, the wicket was further reward for Atkinson pitching the ball up and trusting in his skill to generate seam movement.

Wicket four: Jason Holder c Brook b Atkinson 0

Athanaze’s dismissal brought in Jason Holder, who seemed a little over-promoted at number six in his first Test for 11 months. Immediately he was squared up by Atkinson, playing around the ball as he edged to Harry Brook, who added to England’s list of smart catches in the slips. Atkinson used a more upright seam for this delivery, allowing him to get more bounce off the pitch. Barely three hours into his Test debut, Atkinson was on a hat-trick.

Wicket five: Joshua Da Silva c Smith b Atkinson 0

The hat-trick did not come; Joshua Da Silva defended his first ball to mid off. But Atkinson only had to wait one more ball for his next wicket. Using the wobble seam delivery again, this time Atkinson beat the inside edge. His Surrey teammate and fellow debutant Jamie Smith took his maiden Test catch to bring Atkinson a five-wicket haul on debut.

Wicket six: Alzarri Joseph c Woakes b Atkinson 17

After West Indies collapsed to 88 for seven, Alzarri Joseph reasoned that there was no sense in poking and prodding like the top order and hit Atkinson for a flurry of four boundaries in five balls.

Recognising Joseph’s intent, now Atkinson made use of his white-ball repertoire. He begun his 11th over with a slower ball; Joseph continued to attack in the same vein, and miscued to mid on.

Wicket seven: Shamar Joseph c Pope b Atkinson 0

Under Ben Stokes’s captaincy, England have embraced bowling short to the tail. Stokes has persisted with the tactic with bowlers operating at a little over 80mph – Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson.

Now, with Atkinson, England can deploy the same tactic, but at altogether greater speeds; Atkinson showed as much when he clanged Alzarri Joseph on the head first ball. From his second ball, Shamar Joseph, who bowled West Indies to their stunning victory at the Gabba in January, received a nasty bouncer too. Joseph slipped as he tried to play the shot, and then got a top edge to backward point.

It was a bizarre dismissal, but distilled the greatest reason for Atkinson’s selection: the power of pace. And so what had begun as Anderson’s day swiftly became Atkinson’s instead. A few minutes before three o’clock, Atkinson paused on the boundary rope, held up the ball and then led England off through the long room, basking in the acclaim of his debut figures of seven for 45.