We had an admittance of a PR problem by a multitude of characters, chiefly head coach Brendon McCullum, who called on his players to show more “humility” following a series of gaffes that have apparently seen the team come across as arrogant.
Things then got even murkier on the eve of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge when England captain Ben Stokes, during a round-table interview with the written media, gave a strong indication that Jacob Bethell, who is at the Indian Premier League, was likely to come back into the team for this summer’s marquee series against India.
Ollie Pope scored a century against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge (Photo: Reuters)
The only omission is when Stokes went off on a tangent about James Rew at the end of his first answer. He would later claim mentioning Rew, England’s reserve batter at Trent Bridge, made it clear he was talking about the squad in relation to Bethell.
At no point did he say the word “squad”. He didn’t say “team” either. Yet considering the debate leading into the summer about Bethell’s place in the XI, the question about whether he would “come straight back in for India” implied we were all talking about the team.
Ollie Pope was not mentioned explicitly either but when you “put two and two together” as Stokes suggested, his place at No 3 was the one being debated so he was an obvious discussion point.
Sometimes in these situations, players or England’s media team will realise something has been said that could have been misinterpreted and attempt to clarify. In those circumstances changes are made to stories.
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This felt like damage control after somebody had accidentally said the quiet part out loud. But at this stage, it also felt like we had all moved on.
“It is unfortunate you say something and it can get twisted to suit an agenda. I made it very clear to Popey the night before this Test that is not the case.”
So is there a decision to be made about whether Bethell comes back into the team or has that already been made?
To say Stokes was gaslighting those in the room might be a stretch. But if what he said was genuinely misinterpreted, the blame is squarely on him. He should have been clearer. In future, perhaps he should practice what he preaches.
Meanwhile, Pope was left peering through the looking glass during his own post-match interview, saying: “Sometimes in press conferences, I’m in the media talking about the media.”
Armando Iannucci couldn’t have scripted it better.
Stokes’s original comments about Bethell
What is the chat with Jacob Bethell? He was obviously the incumbent No 3, made a really positive start in New Zealand. He’s not here because of the IPL. What’s the expectation around him? Does he come straight back in for India? What’s the management’s thinking?
“All those conversations go on with Keysy [England managing director Rob Key] and Baz [coach Brendon McCullum]. That stems back to how I wanted that kind of role within my captaincy to be. I don’t do the good news, I don’t do the bad news. I’ve got to focus on the group and the 11 guys on the field.
“It’s a pretty simple one, you know? We’ve had to deal with situations like this in the past, not just with the Test guys but the white-ball guys when they’ve got the IPL overlapping with series and stuff like that.
“If you’re smart enough, the series that Beth had out in New Zealand, obviously he’s going to be back in the UK for that India series. So, I think you put two and two together, you probably know what’s going to happen.”
Just on Jacob, when you say put two and two together, the players in the team can do that as well. They’ve got a Test match to play this week. How do you reassure those guys when they know that someone else is knocking on the door and give the confidence and take the pressure off them this week to put their case forward and keep their shirt later in the summer?
“Well, if you look at the situation of Beth coming into the team in New Zealand [it] was down to an injury so we had to reshuffle the team based around that. So hopefully nothing like that happens again, but it’s great to have a versatile player such as Beth at your disposal.”
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