When England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Richard Gould and director of cricket Rob Key held court at Lord’s in March to explain the post-Ashes review, team culture was front and centre.
On a PowerPoint presentation in the ECB boardroom at Lord’s was a slide titled: “Culture and environment”. On it were three points:
1. Positive, relaxed AND professional high performance.
2. New expectations around team behaviours.
3. Better individual and collective decision making.
As English cricket comes to terms with yet another off-field controversy following the incident involving Test captain Ben Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson in a west London nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning, it is fair to say the cultural reset has failed on all three of those fronts.
Beating New Zealand in the opening Test of the summer at Lord’s last Sunday was a small, tentative step in the right direction in terms of on-field results.
It even partially justified the ECB’s decision to stick with Key and coach Brendon McCullum following last winter’s gruesome 4-1 Ashes series defeat.
Yet after a winter where Gould admitted there had been several “significantly unprofessional” incidents off the field, England can no longer hide from the truth – they have a team culture that is rotten to the core.
There is some irony in the fact Harry Brook is expected to replace Stokes as captain (Photo: Getty)The midnight curfew introduced after the tour of Australia always seemed like a performative piece of PR.
The fact that England’s Test captain felt emboldened to breach that very measure in the hours after his team’s victory at Lord’s proves just as much.
With Stokes and Atkinson unlikely to be selected while the ECB investigates the incident that also involved players from Saracens Rugby Club, we are now in the bizarre position where Harry Brook is set to captain England in next week’s second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.
Brook is the main reason why a curfew was introduced in the first place after he was punched by a Wellington bouncer just hours before a one-day international last October.
Fined around £50,000 by the ECB for that late-night incident, Brook clung onto his position as white-ball captain by a thread. The incident was covered up by the ECB but five months to the day after it was revealed in the aftermath of the final Ashes Test in Sydney, we are back to square one.
With Stokes’s future as Test captain now in doubt, Brook could find himself leading the Test team on a permanent basis too.
The issue of Stokes’ position is a valid point of debate. This incident has undermined his authority as captain – indeed he should have been setting an example in terms of off-field behaviour. But the prospect of him losing his job after this while Key and McCullum remain in position does not sit well with me.
It must not be forgotten that while both Stokes and Atkinson have broken “team protocols” as the ECB put it, they are said not to have been the aggressors in the nightclub incident. Both are grown men and should be held responsible for their actions.
Stokes and Atkinson were involved in a nightclub incident after the win over New Zealand on Sunday (Photo: AFP)Yet the ECB needs to tread a fine line here. Both players have had difficult pasts. Stokes has spoken openly about his mental health struggles that were triggered by the aftermath of the Bristol brawl in 2017 that saw him miss the 2017-18 Ashes and the death of his father in 2020. Atkinson lost his mother in the same year in a tragic car accident.
The ECB has a duty of care to both players. They also have a responsibility to look at the reason why the culture of the Test team is so unprofessional.
The governing body has been in denial for months about a drinking culture in the team. In March, Key’s response to a question on this topic told its own story. “I don’t think they have a drinking problem,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair to put everyone into that bracket. I think the majority of those players are unbelievably diligent and will do whatever they can to try and maximise their potential and play as well as they can for England.
“Like a lot of teams, there’s two or three players that can be irresponsible with alcohol given that opportunity. What we’re trying to do is try and find that happy medium.”
McCullum’s credibility also looks shot given his words about having a “tighter grip” on the players in the lead-up to the New Zealand series. “From a cultural point of view and a discipline point of you, I think we need to make sure we’re operating in the manner we want to and what’s expected of us,” he said.
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“Playing professional sport, it’s a great career, but ultimately you’re still responsible because you’re representing your country and you’ve got some responsibilities and obligations to carry yourself in the right way.”
Those words now look pathetically hollow.
Blame Stokes and Atkinson for breaking team protocols. But why did they feel they could get away with it? That is down to those at the top – Gould and ECB chairman Richard Thompson included.
Their inertia after a winter scarred by off-field controversies has led us to where we are now. The only solution is to act decisively.
The summer has already descended into chaos. McCullum and Key should both be removed. After all, it is they who have ultimately fostered a team culture that has once again embarrassed English cricket.
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