England’s summer comes to an end with a convincing 3-0 Test whitewash of Pakistan at Edgbaston on Saturday. It’s been a shambolic summer to all intents and purposes.
Ben Stokes retired in the middle of the series against New Zealand, which England eventually lost 2-1. Brendon McCullum was sacked from the Test head coach role. Prior to his retirement, Stokes, along with Gus Atkinson, was involved in a nightclub controversy after the win in the first Test against the Kiwis. Months before, Stokes was lucky to come out alive after a freakish incident at a Durham nets. Then Brydon Carse was arrested by the police days before the second Test and was removed from the Test squad. You see, it’s been total madness since their Ashes loss earlier this year.
In view of all those things, Joe Root, who replaced Stokes as England captain, was happy that the team was able to beat Pakistan convincingly and move on from the recent dark phase. “In chaos, you learn a lot about the group of players you have. For us to have come through this series in the manner we have done, the way we’ve gone about our cricket, and gone about things has been really pleasing,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of chaos around this series before a ball was bowled, and the way we’ve handled it on and off the field, the way everyone understands what is expected of them – both as a player and how we want to carry ourselves – is a really good thing. The start of the series, we wanted 3-0, and we’ve been clinical enough to do that.”
But Root was also of the opinion that this was just the beginning. There was more to do, particularly off the field. To make things better, the midnight curfews have been done away with since Root’s return to captaincy. And there is also no real hard line on alcohol consumption anymore. “We’re not the finished article,” Root told BBC Test Match Special. “We’re not going to kid ourselves. That’ll be a constant work [in progress]. The culture of this team is not something that’s going to happen overnight; it’s something we’re going to have to live and breathe day in, day out. But there’s no reason we can’t. It’s a good set of lads, really good guys that work incredibly hard and performances like this and commitment to what we’re trying to achieve, both on and off the field, will be what earns trust and respect to everyone that supports us,” he added.