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Rob Key has opened the door for Ben Stokes to return to England’s Test team a month after the former captain’s shock international retirement, saying he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the 35-year-old decides to come back into a new-look red-ball set-up for next summer’s Ashes.
England’s managing director of men’s cricket insisted his relationship with Stokes has not frayed beyond repair should the player decide to return to the international fold. “Not at all, not as far as I’m concerned,” Key said.
Key admitted that there had been no contact with Stokes but when asked about a possible Test return added: “I wouldn’t be surprised – anything’s possible with Ben.”
Brendon McCullum was sacked as England’s Test coach at the end of the recent T20 series against India, though he remains in charge of the white-ball sides, with his fellow former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming announced this week as his replacement. The decision to appoint another foreign coach has been criticised – as has the fact that Fleming will miss the forthcoming three-Test series against Pakistan “to spend time with his family”.
“My job, I believe, is just to get the best person to do the job,” Key said. “It wasn’t a stipulation for any of the candidates that you had to be there for Pakistan – had that been the case, that would have limited the field drastically. It was about trying to get the best person. Like you have in life, you have things you have to do that have been planned a long way in advance.”
Fleming will arrive in England in September, potentially in time to meet the squad during their final Test of the summer, at Edgbaston in its second week. “That’s where we really start setting everything up: the way that we want this team to go, how do we put [plans] in place?” said Key.
“And then it will be all on from there. We’re already speaking all the time, every opportunity we have. He’s speaking with Joe Root, [interim coach] Marcus Trescothick, starting to really get into the ins and outs of our setup. So much as he’ll be over from September, he’s already very much in the weeds.”
The decision to reappoint Root as captain, just over four years after he resigned from the role in part because of its impact on his mental health, was made in consultation with Fleming, and the offer apparently accepted without hesitation. Though Stokes had backed Harry Brook for the captaincy, and Brook had declared himself ready for it, the 27-year-old has been left in charge of the white-ball teams where he will “continue learning how to become an outstanding leader”, with Root preferred as “the most senior player by a long, long way”.
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“Stephen and I spoke a lot about who we felt the best person was, and we felt Joe Root is that at the moment. It’s just too soon for Harry Brook,” Key said. “When I came into the job I was not fully aware of everything Joe had gone through as captain: a series against India in India, which has always been tough, then an Ashes series, which is incredibly tough, then dealing with Covid.
“Now he has the chance to work with what I believe is the best coach. Those two will be a great complimentary pairing to take England forward. He’s our best ever batter, a great cricketer that can actually now have a chance to captain the side without any of the stuff he had to deal with last time. I’m just so glad he gets that chance. At some stage Harry Brook will be an outstanding Test captain. We just didn’t feel the time was right now.”
