Fear of failure has gone... get set for thrilling Ashes

ONE year ago, England’s Test team was in utter disarray. Everyone was questioning absolutely everything about the red-ball game. So, to witness this turnaround — and the speed with which it has happened — is quite incredible. It just shows what can be achieved if you get the right people at the top and they make the right decisions. It started with Sir Andrew Strauss making the right decision in appointing Rob Key as managing director. I said at the time I thought it was an excellent choice. Then, Key got the big decisions right in appointing Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as coach. McCullum was the right fit at the right time. Before he came in, England were being micromanaged to the nth degree, whether it be because of the Covid bubbles or their rotation policy. They needed someone like McCullum to set them free. With Stokes as his captain, they have two people who are completely aligned. If anything, McCullum actually has a captain who is even more positive than him, which is quite remarkable.

The two of them are working hand-inhand perfectly in changing the mindset. What they have done is just strip away all the bulls***. No more naughty-boy nets or practice games for the sake of it. If they want to go to Queenstown a few days early to play golf, so be it. If the players want to have a quiet drink on an evening, they haven’t got someone tapping them on the shoulder saying they should go to bed. They are being treated like grown-ups and professionals. McCullum has a saying, ‘Plan as if you’ll live for ever but live as if you’ll die tomorrow’, and he has managed to get that across to the whole team. The most amazing thing he has done is take away that fear of failure. Too many players in the past have not enjoyed the journey because they have been so stressed about getting runs or worrying about losing. There are tougher challenges ahead, of course. The Ashes is going to be mouthwatering and I think it will be close. But whatever happens, it will be enjoyable to watch. England said they would win, play a different brand of cricket and make Test cricket exciting again. That is what they have done. As Key said when he came in, ‘Enjoy the ride’. We’re all doing that and long may it continue.