Charlotte Edwards had given us a strong clue: “the field is very narrow”.
The choice of a new England captain might have been between two or three. As things transpired, it was the orthodox, middle-of-the-road decision we might have expected: a single candidate, Natalie Sciver-Brunt.
There has been plenty of public reaction, much of it adverse. It comes against the background of one of England’s darkest periods of cricketing history – and there has been no lack of them. People have recalled her less than successful matches in charge.
Heather Knight and Jon Lewis had already paid the penalty for the ‘nul points’ attained in the recent Ashes tour of Australia. It isn’t immediately clear why Knight said she had no intention of retiring from elite cricket, which meant the possibility of her playing under someone else’s captaincy. That’s happened before, but it needs a cool-headed incomer, not to be disturbed by the presence of another senior player silently querying every decision.
Edwards felt it vital to appoint a player who would be an automatic choice for all three formats, test, ODI and T20. Since tests come along once in a blue moon, that seems less than necessary.
Then there’s the curious matter of NSB’s unwillingness to take over when the question last arose. (Amy Jones likewise said she felt uncomfortable at the thought of captaining.) Yet I remember her in charge at the Oval back in KSL days, looking very much the natural leader. Now she feels quite ready to undertake huge new responsibilies.
Who’s running the show?
The many criticisms levelled at the ECB and Clare Connor include the questions: why this sense of a closed shop – harder to be dropped than to be picked – ‘jobs for the girls’? Then let’s add: why had the board failed to prepare for the day when a new captain was needed? Is it just bad luck that the current squad seems so lacking in leadership skills?
We can only hope to see the revolution that supporters yearn for coming from an establishment figure like NSB. She and Edwards must be willing to shed some of the senior members of the group, in order to create a new winning formula.
For the current season cricket structures in England have been altered for the umpteenth time. Why are the people in charge so unable to map out a sensible path and stick to it?
Personal
One of my problems is, I recall a day at Canterbury watching England in the field getting mauled by a typically ruthless Aussie batting line-up – all too reminiscent of recent events we’d prefer to forget. The point is that Edwards remained the captain despite having a chronic wonky knee that caused her to field at fine-leg. No question of her stepping aside to allow a fully fit player to take her place. It was a deflating day’s experience.
I had first spotted her when her face was splashed across the front page of my local newspaper (remember them?) as a 13-year-old. She was already producing amazing results with her bat.
Since she left Kent for pastures new further west, she has proved the most outstanding coach in England. Her squads have picked up any number of trophies; she has a reputation for spotting talent a mile off. We should soon discover her response to the question of generations. Will the old’uns disappear promptly, or will she seek a more gradual transfer to the younger prospects?
She and her new captain will be all too aware of the complaints that have rained in on the England squad, body shapes well in the lead. The fitness centre may find itself overworked.
Unfair demands?
There is a history in the game of the leading player failing to produce onfield results – especially with the bat – when taking over the reins. NSB is unquestionably the outstanding player in the country. But it will be a huge challenge for her to maintain her batting excellence and her usefulness as a seamer, while coping with the manifold demands of captaincy. Memo: it was the fielding standards in Australia that caused the loudest outcry.
The proliferation of new formats in the game (I await The Fifty with confidence), each with its own bookful of regulations, makes modern captaincy even harder.
Alternatives
We may wonder who Lottie cast a glance at before making the safe choice. The bookmakers’ favourites were Charlie Dean, already in the squad, and Grace Scrivens, still a Cinderella despite many calls for her inclusion. She is the most talented captain of the younger generation, taking Sunrisers from seasons of underachievement to the 2024 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
It is worrying to see how quickly a hard earned reputation can dissolve. Until the Ashes tour Sophie Ecclestone was seen as one of the greats, unsurpassed as a spin-bowler and a more than useful lower-order bat, sixes her speciality. No longer! Far from being a leading candidate for captaincy, she is having to re-establish her good name in the cricketing world.
The Schedule
We’ll soon discover answers to our questions. England will face the West Indies six times between 21 May and 7 June. Then the heat will rise further as they take on India, also at home, between 28 June and 22 July.
