England vs New Zealand in 2022

Test matches (3): England 3 (34pts), New Zealand 0 (0pts)

With a new captain, head coach, managing director and attacking approach, the England Test team began their new era with three startling victories and a clean sweep of world champions New Zealand. Even Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key could not have imagined they would embrace the positive philosophy so quickly and so successfully. After winning just one of their previous 17 Tests, England were suddenly playing a style of cricket that not only exhilarated the public but actually won games.

The victories were achieved with pursuits of 277 at Lord's, 299 at Trent Bridge and 296 at Headingley, the last two after spectators were let in for free on the final day. No team had ever overhauled targets of 250 or more in three back-to-back Tests, and England would soon go even higher, against India. Some called it "Bazball", in homage to the coach, although "Baz" McCullum thought the word "silly", and the players didn't use it. Put simply, Stokes and McCullum - both inveterate risk-takers - wanted England's cricket to reflect their personalities. It meant being aggressive with bat and ball, and in the field.

Jonny Bairstow took this request to levels rarely seen in Test history, with innings of 136 from 92 balls and 71 not out from 44 in the chases at Trent Bridge and Headingley. In between, in the first innings at Headingley, his home ground, he thrashed 162 from 157. Stokes himself signalled his intent - and the way he wanted others to play - by regularly dancing down the pitch to try to hit New Zealand's seamers.

His men were happy to follow suit. Joe Root reverse-lapped Tim Southee and Neil Wagner for sixes, and continued the prolific form of the last 15 months of his captaincy. His match-winning 115 not out in the First Test was perhaps the most significant innings of the series, instilling belief and providing an instant winning return on the new methods. Even Alex Lees, virtually strokeless in his debut series in the Caribbean a few weeks earlier, was driving and cutting and advancing towards the bowlers.

Meanwhile, Stokes asked his seamers to bowl full lengths, giving maximum opportunity for the ball to swing. Stuart Broad and James Anderson, both reinstated after being dropped for the Caribbean, obliged; in the quest for wickets, they were prepared to go for more runs than they would normally like. Stokes introduced Jack Leach into the attack for the 13th over at Leeds, after he had been removed from the First Test by concussion, and pounded for 226 in the Second. Leach, his sometimes shaky confidence seemingly raised by the captain's faith, took a wicket with his first ball, and five in each innings. He even opened the bowling in the second.

Stokes set more attacking fields than any of his recent predecessors, and England captured all 60 wickets. His bowling changes and fielding placings were often shrewd; his tactical nous and instinct for match situations and opponents' vulnerabilities perhaps surprised even his own players. Any talk of him having too much on his plate as captain and premier all-rounder, or being troubled by the mental health issues that persuaded him to take a break from cricket in 2021, quickly disappeared.

Another dictum was to choose the best XI for the next match, rather than worry about rest, rotation and planning, in the way that muddled the thinking of the previous regime. What a novel idea! Broad, who turned 36 during the series, played all three Tests, which would surely have been unthinkable with Chris Silverwood and Root in charge, or with Ed Smith as national selector.

Stokes increased the self-belief of his players with regular public assurances of support, to make them feel "ten feet tall", as he put it. He said Ollie Pope was "an amazing player", and promoted him to No. 3. Pope responded with 145 in the Second Test after one score above 35 in his previous 25 Test innings. Zak Crawley struggled, but heard only praise from his captain. Matthew Potts, though, a Durham team-mate of Stokes, looked a durable, big-hearted and skilful seam bowler in his first three Test appearances, and took 14 wickets at 23 apiece.

For the first time in two years, England players were out of bubble life and pandemic restrictions, and performed like men freed from captivity. They did need a Covid sub, though, when Ben Foakes tested positive at Leeds, and Sam Billings took over. In the First Test, Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson had become England's first concussion sub when he stepped in for Leach.

Other changes included the captain and coach trying to make the grind of daily warm-ups more relaxed. Players were allowed to prepare in their own way and, sometimes, if England were batting that day, to hardly warm up at all. They scrapped the regular huddle 45 minutes before play, because Stokes and McCullum saw little point in waffle or calling everyone together when they might be better engaged. At practice, McCullum did nicks - catches for the wicketkeeper and slip fielders - but generally he just observed, and spoke only when necessary. His media appearances were rare: he insisted he did not want to take credit away from the team.

The speed at which all this happened was extraordinary. Key was officially appointed on April 17, confirming Stokes as captain on April 28, and McCullum as coach on May 12. They didn't begin working with the players until May 30, three days before the Lord's Test. The identity of their opponents added another subplot: Stokes had lived in New Zealand until he was 12, while McCullum had for many years captained them in dynamic and heroic fashion. To add to the drama, New Zealand were on top at various points in each Test. At Lord's, they were 242 runs ahead in their second innings with six wickets standing. At Trent Bridge, they scored 553. At Headingley, they had England 55 for six in reply to 329, only for Bairstow and debutant Jamie Overton to put on 241 in 45 overs.

England turned the matches around with relentless positivity that could persuade other Test nations to play in similar fashion. Stokes and McCullum maybe got a touch lucky with Root's continued brilliance and a couple of freak innings by Bairstow, but it was clear England would always attack. McCullum admitted: "I'm aggressive, but Ben's got me covered."

New Zealand had won the World Test Championship a year earlier by beating India in England, having just beaten England themselves. But they were unable to take advantage of their strong positions. Their main problem was a lack of runs from the top order, though Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell took up the slack by totalling 538 and 383 respectively, and nine of their side's 12 scores of 50 or more. Mitchell made a century in each Test, and his aggregate was the highest by a New Zealander in a three- or four-match series.

But the tourists suffered two significant injuries: all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme hobbled off at Lord's, and out of the series, with a heel problem, and Kyle Jamieson missed the last Test and a half with a stress fracture of the back. Kane Williamson sat out the Second Test after testing positive for Covid, and managed just 96 runs in four innings, with Potts dismissing him three times.

Trent Boult arrived in the UK from the IPL less than 72 hours before the series began, and bowled beautifully; his spell of swing at the start of England's first innings at Headingley was peerless. But Southee managed only nine wickets at 59 apiece, and New Zealand kept picking the wrong team. Slow left-armer Ajaz Patel bowled just two overs in all, while part-time off-spinner Michael Bracewell delivered nearly 48 and was plundered for a run a ball.

Stokes told his players to imagine they were in the entertainment business rather than sport. "I knew everyone would buy into the new mentality that Brendon and myself set out, but I didn't think it would go this well," he said. McCullum's post-series verdict left fans wanting more: "I hope we take this aggression too far, because then we'll know exactly where the line is. Until you do that, you're not really sure." Between them, they might have changed the way Test cricket is played.