How Joe Root’s England finally created the perfect environment for young talents to thrive
The opening pair of Zak Crawley, aged 21, and Dom Sibley, 24, put on 70 when England chose to bat first. Ollie Pope, 22, used that platform to notch a maiden Test century with the top score of 135 bumping the innings to 499. Dom Bess, 22, took out six of the 20 wickets to fall. And Sam Curran, 21, bagged the winning run out.
Victory by an innings and 53 runs was not solely the work of babes. Ben Stokes’ ninth Test hundred, Joe Root‘s four wickets and Mark Wood’s spells made sure those “around” 30 had some of their own. But the impressions left by those five, new to adulthood and even newer to Test cricket, is as valuable as the 2-1 scoreline they take with them to Johannesburg.
Root naturally, perhaps also wisely, downplayed aspects of what has been witnessed over the last five days: “We are a long way off where we want to be, very much at the start of the journey with a young squad of players but everyone has brought in.”
Those words can jar somewhat in that, while sincere, they come from a media-trained place and are merely a variant of lines Root uses for defeats, too. Bear with us, and them. There will be magic, there’ll also be mistakes.
There’s always the destination, too. “Where we want to be”: A shimmering mirage in the distance of a productive Test side who don’t get rolled for double figures in a session or lose the plot in the field. Deep down, though, away from the cameras and dictaphones, Root has seen that these youngsters are capable of taking the team to where they want to be.
As ever in cricket, the measurable contributions are the most acknowledged, even those beyond the primary suits.
Pope’s runs accompanied six catches. Curran’s brisk 44 gave the opening innings an extra shot of adrenaline. In batting for 31 overs, Crawley and Sibley provided England with their longest opening stand in a first-innings since July 2009. But most impressive has been how the players have conducted themselves in the changing room.
Usually, Joe Root, head coach Chris Silverwood or other senior figures give a motivational team-talk at the end of play. But on occasion in this series, Root has given junior members the floor.
It was Curran who spoke after Pope’s century on day two of this match, lauding his friend who he has played with at Surrey and against in school cricket since the age of 14. Crawley was also given the opportunity to talk and impressed with his candour.
Such exercises help younger players feel more involved and at ease in a team environment that not long ago was not so welcoming. Winning helps, of course, and if you were to speak to those who have been part of previous England sides, they would laugh at the notion of the least experienced players talking so freely.
But the practice is more commonplace now off the back of more openness from above. Seeing senior stars like Jos Buttler talk about fear as he did during the World Cup, or seeing the work Stokes does in training has made the set-up much more accessible. These youngsters have used the opportunity better than most.
It might help that this specific five all know each other. Curran and Pope come from Surrey, which is how they also know Sibley. Pope is in the same age bracket as Crawley and so has been playing against the Kent batsman since the age of 12. Bess and Pope were also in the same England Under-19 set-up together.
Crucially, they have also shown themselves to be well-rounded individuals off the field. Free-time on tour, such as the near two-week gap in the lead-up into this Test, has been used wisely, not just wasted at a hotel or propping up a bar, as was the usual complaint of new kids on tour.
All five used the break to spend a few days by the coast, take a trip to a winery or having a day out on safari. All a little inconsequential on the face of it, but these are the sort of excursions that hint at a more rounded perspective to management. It was not that long ago on an England tour when a coach bumped into the newest additions of his squad pissed-up and pushing each other around in shopping trollies.
Speaking to Sky Sports at the start of the day, Stuart Broad, who has many come and go in his 13 years, was particularly effusive: “The great thing about the young players that I see at the moment is how quickly they’re learning, how quickly they want to learn. It’s great for me, walking into the changing room each day and everyone’s buzzing to be here. It’s a great environment to be in at the moment.”
When victory was claimed just before midday and the applause received was reciprocated by the players to the England fans in the ground, Root ensured Pope and Bess led the team off.
Nothing particularly out of the ordinary given their respective contributions of a century and a five-wicket haul (Bess’ first). But the pair were just 13 when England last won an overseas Test by an innings, at Sydney in January 2011. That side was one of England’s finest of the modern era.
This one still has a long way to go, and not all five of this 24-and-under cohort will have long, distinguished Test careers. They have all developed differently to this point, in terms of talent and circumstance, and they will only have so much control over how that continues to play out in the future.
But they have shown a successful Test side can be a youthful one. As much as that might worry some of the older players who are currently out of the XI and the squad, it should serve as motivation to county cricket’s youngest and brightest.
If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
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