Cricket back on front foot with Bazball
ALEX Lees believes the exploits of England’s newly aggressive Test team have created a buzz in the county game, having helped “spread the word” during his recent stint with Durham.
England started their summer with a series of daring victories over New Zealand and India, flourishing in increasingly vibrant fashion under the guidance of recently appointed head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
After four stirring chases their momentum was only stopped by the schedule, which gave way to a month of mixed results in the white- ball arena.
Opener Lees spent that time back on the domestic circuit, where he found plenty of interest in the fresh blueprint laid down by McCullum and Stokes.
“Their message to me was simple: try to take the vision they have for moving English cricket forward and bring some of that to the county game,” he said
“It wasn’t anything more than ‘ spread the word of how we want to play’ and I think there’s some real excitement out there about playing that more aggressive brand.
“Not many players come and tap me up for information as a rule, but the thing that is so good about how we’ve played is that it’s very clear for everyone what has changed. There’s no hidden agenda, just a clear message everyone can see without delving too deep.
“It’s out there now in the county game and in
the bigger picture, be it club cricket or junior cricket, everyone in the country can look at how Jonny Bairstow or Joe Root have been going about things and see that mindset.”
Lees believes the English game needs to work better for the national side.
He said: “It’s the obvious challenge for what we are trying to do, getting the wickets that are conducive to teaching this kind of Test cricket,” he said.
“Groundstaff do their best but if you only have four good ‘ international’ wickets on your square it’s a challenge to prepare fast, bouncy pitches for every game. I’ve played out a couple of pretty boring draws but as a group there is an enthusiasm for shifting away from those slow, low surfaces.”
And Lees is trying to keep things simple. He added: “First and foremost, of course you want a hundred, that’s why we play the game, but I’m not overthinking it.”