by 
Rob Key hit the players of England, saying that they sometimes spoke of “waste” in the media when they say that the results do not matter.
Ben Duckett said he wouldn’t care if England had lost his ODI series in India 3-0 if they won the Champions Trophy. During the 2023 Ashes, Zak Crawley said that England “did not aim or lose, we are entertainment”.
Messaging is not a new problem for this team and an exasperated key has already talked to the players about the difference between internal conversations to play with freedom and not to fear failure, but to focus publicly on the results.
“There is no doubt that we have to improve when we do interviews,” said Key, managing director of England. “We are talking a lot of waste most of the time because they try so hard not to somehow players in the locker room, not try to give something they don’t think. And then they end up creating titles for this.
“There are no people in which players don’t care, they don’t want to go and get big scores. It is absolutely not true that they do not care to win, that they are arrogant. They are young men and it is not easy to do all this type of thing. They try so hard that they walk a good balance between trying to give an overview of what is happening in the locker room, things that are said, and there is sometimes a reason why Brendon [McCullum, England’s head coach] said what he is doing.
Stokes a competitor for the white ball captain
Key, speaking at Lord for the first time since the release of England of the Champions Trophy, in which they lost the three group games, also said that it would be “stupid” not to consider Ben Stokes for the captain of the White Balle of England, which could have pushed more responsibilities on his shoulders during a year of ashes.
Stokes is currently recovering from the serious injury to the hamstrings he suffered at the end of the tour in New Zealand and has not yet proven that he can maintain his twin role as a versatile in test cricket after a succession of operations.
But with the blancball cricket in England in disarray after Jos Buttler paid the price for a third successive performance of the world tournament, Stokes suddenly became a possible surprise replacement to direct the three teams of England. Harry Brook, however, is considered the main competitor for T20 work. This could lead to a distribution of roles, although no discussion took place with Stokes, because England monitors its physical form before making concrete plans.
“Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I have ever seen, so it would be stupid not to look at it. It’s just the training effect of what it means, “said Key. “Nothing is really out of the table. You look at each option and you think: “Okay, what is the best thing to do?”
“It is an incredibly good tactician, which we saw in Test Cricket, and he is a leader of men. He is someone who draws the best game from people. He is someone who, when the pressure is really on, he is able to launch a blanket around the players and to say: “No, no, it is the way to follow, continue with”. And I think these are the things you need in leadership.
“It’s more, what would that mean for him?” What would that mean for its workload? We also don’t want to risk other things. But there is always a way in England to start looking at if it’s not okay? Do you also have to think, what’s going on if it’s okay?
Stokes trained in Abu Dhabi with the Lions of England and Key says he is “on the right track” to be in good shape for the start of the season and play as a versatile. Brook remains the most likely replacement to buttler because England must start to pass through the next generation of managers. “Harry Brook will be an exceptional captain. It could bring out the best of Harry Brook, just being able to go there and feel additional responsibility. »»
Key accepted England made errors tactically and with selections to the Champions trophy, which was the first challenge for McCullum as a head coach in the two formats. They were criticized for not having taken the practice and training seriously, with Kevin Pietersen and delighted Shastri questioning their work ethics during the series of a day in India.
“Brendon was going to meet Ravi Shastri, doing an interview with him to explain exactly what was going on. He was not there for this interview. But look, I have no problem with the way our guys do things, “said Key.
England was unidimensional in the champions trophy, too unclogged on the rapid bowling alley and struck at a rate. McCullum encouraged his players to respond to defeat by going harder. Jamie Smith’s performance summed it up. He proved that he could fight in a responsible manner in the test cricket, but when he was promoted to n ° 3 on the ODI side, he threw his counter three times, suggesting that he was following a plan.
“When you start to look at it, in the past two years, the particular striker fell from a cliff,” said Key. “Your only motto as a bat is races. You go there, that you hit one, two, three, no matter the speed with which you get it, how slowly you get it, it is, can you go and play a round that will help your team win a game? This is the only motto you have. So we could have changed the selection, yes, but the fact is that if you don’t hit well and hit is your strength, it’s a real problem. “”
Most catchy bazball quotes from England
1. Zak Crawley, June 2023
“This is what we offer – we are not results, we are still talking about it, we are not to win or lose, we are entertainment.”
The opener of England was in a hard-hitting form after England narrowly lost the opening of the ashes to Edgbaston, but may not have read the room with the result in the most important series of all.
2. Brendon McCullum, June 2023:
“It feels like we won, guys.”
An Ollie Robinson column for Wisden Attracted a lot of attention, especially for the line which revealed that the head coach of England McCullum had told the team that their defeat Edgbaston was like a victory. It was despite Australia which exceeded the line of an improbable position thanks to Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.
3. Stuart Broad, June 2023:
“And then came this first blow from Zak Crawley. Broady [Stuart Broad] said that is his favorite moment of ashes. “”
In the same column, Robinson somewhat threw his wide teammate under the bus by revealing that he said that Crawley hitting the first ash ball for four was his favorite moment of ashes … Never.
4. Harry Brook, July 2023:
“We dominated the match and if it had played, I would think that we would have won. So if we can win this week, it can almost make a moral victory. »»
The common use of the term “moral ash” was undoubtedly inflated by Brook saying that England could take this with an oval victory to level the series after the rain denied the hosts at Old Trafford. After the Bairstow-Carey incident in Lord’s, moral superiority was already claimed in England.
5. Ben Stokes, July 2024:
“We have managed to become a sports team that will forever live in memory of people who have had the chance to see us playing cricket.”
The clip of Stokes saying that the above came from the Old Trafford locker room after having been confirmed that Australia would keep the ballot box, but it was only published until a documentary in England and the country of Wales. The quotation attracted a lot of attention, especially under.
6. Ben Duckett, February 2025:
“If we lose 3-0 against India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the Champions Trophy final.”
The recent comments from the Oper of England during an unsuccessful visit to India before the champions trophy campaign (also unsuccessful) were taken up as a sign, England, now under McCullum in all formats, did not care to win enough.
