England's poor processes continue with captaincy debate
Has Rob Key given insight into a lack of advance thought?
In my last newsletter, I wrote about the reasons which I think cost England in the Champions Trophy, and concluded that the results of the tournament were part of a bigger malaise which should be focused on questionable decisions and a lack of evidence-based thought processes from the management.
England’s poor white-ball record with Rob Key as Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket was highlighted, and I think his latest comments about England’s new white-ball captain illustrate the lack of strategic planning from the current management.
To me at least, it seems strange that high-profile (and highly paid) administrators haven’t thought about what I’m going to discuss, and I’d welcome your thoughts on this.
If you haven’t read it, Key’s thoughts on the new ODI captain can be read here via ESPN Cricinfo. Summarising from the article, some quotes stand out…
"I think nothing's off the table really," Key said. "You look at every single option and you think, right, what is the best thing to do? How is that going to impact on other things?
"Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I've ever seen. So it would be stupid not to look at him. It's just the knock-on effect of what that means.”
Regardless of whether England choose Ben Stokes as ODI captain or not, these these quotes give hints that England’s approach to selecting captains is far from ‘best practice’. Jos Buttler’s captaincy went into the Champions Trophy under significant pressure, and it was highly likely that a poor performance from England would see the end of Buttler’s reign.
So, shouldn’t England (and hence, Key) have thought about who would replace him prior to the Champions Trophy? Wouldn’t it have made sense earlier in 2024 to be investing time and effort into making sure the next captain was ready to hit the ground running - particularly given that the red ball captain (Stokes) is very injury-prone and will be 34 in a few months, and the white ball captain (Buttler) was already under pressure and turns 35 years of age this year?
It seems clear from these quotes that England have not done this, hence the speculation and uncertainty about the next captain. This succession planning is commonplace among well-run football teams. It should be no different in cricket.
Furthermore, being the hypothetical ODI captain is asking a lot of Stokes who has battled numerous injuries over recent years to be captain of another format, one which he has retired from. If he can’t even stay consistently available for Tests, why would anyone think that it’s a good idea to make him captain of a second format?
Stokes’ last ODI was in November 2023, and since then his only white ball activity has been three Hundred matches, in which he scored four runs from nine balls faced, and conceded 49 runs from 27 balls bowled without taking a wicket.
This final question also needs to be asked - should Ben Stokes even be in England’s best white-ball XIs?
Anyone interested in discussing how I can help their organisation with strategic management, data-driven analysis and long-term planning can get in touch at sportsanalyticsadvantage@gmail.com.