McCullum’s real genius is helping two England Ashes stars shut up critics

Graeme Hick was dropped 11 times during his England Test career. For a singular talent who went on to amass more than 40,000 first-class runs the insecurity of the selection merry-go-round was debilitating. Maybe he was temperamentally unsuited to the furnace of Test cricket. Maybe he would never have fulfilled his rich promise at county level even without the axings. But how a player like Hick, forever mistrusted, must wish he could enter a time portal and beam down in Brendon McCullum’s England set-up.

The business of being dropped seemingly no longer exists. If you are in, you are for the duration no matter what. It is a revolution in thinking which is reaping enormous gains for England. Zak Crawley, by the norms of the past, should not have been playing in the Old Trafford Test. He had been given plenty of chances by England and the return had been sketchy.

Heading into his 38th Test, he was averaging 27.8 which was less than Chris Woakes. At the very least he would have known that the pressure was on, that he was batting in the last-chance saloon in Manchester with all the anxiety that knowledge would have brought with it.

But all those old uncertainties have been dispelled under McCullum. Crawley knew he was going nowhere. McCullum told him not to concern himself about his place or being consistent, just to go out with freedom and win games of cricket for England. We all know what happened next. A thunderous innings of 189 runs off 182 balls which put England in command of the Fourth Test and propelled Crawley to the top of the Ashes series run-scoring charts.

If Bazball has been about turning convention on its head, the axing of the axe has been an underappreciated element to the revolution. Spring a player from the jail of doubt and he is free to perform to his potential. Of course, part of the trick is picking the right individuals in the first place. It is no use sticking with players who aren’t up to the job.

Crawley was only able to come good in the end because he has the tools to operate at Test level. But in a sense the rule applies regardless. Whoever England had given the opener’s spot to would have been emboldened by the knowledge that the place has a brass plate with their name on it. It is all about clearing the mind. Security removes anxiety. And without anxiety, the road block to performance clears.

The change has been a psychological masterstroke from McCullum. Jonny Bairstow is another example of a player benefiting from it. His assault on Friday at Old Trafford reduced Australia to rubble but he was only there in the first place and only able to play in such a manner because he was certain McCullum had his back. The calls for Ben Foakes’s recall as wicketkeeper had been loud and long – Bairstow heard them – but inside the Bazbubble he knew he was safe.

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From that comforting start point, it was only a matter of time before a batter of his capabilities came good. There may come a point when this loyalty is stretched too far, when the commitment to the players who are already part of the England set-up blinds the management to superior options on the outside but we are not there yet.

The opposite in fact. The womb-like space McCullum has nurtured is bringing the best out of players who would have been discarded under previous regimes. They trust him and he trusts them which, in the cut-throat world of professional sport, is a rare occurrence.

The result is the tightest of groups. England could have splintered at 2-0 down in the series but they didn’t. Headingley was an inspiring bounceback and Old Trafford has been stunning – a trans-Pennine treat. If the weather denies England today in the first Test of this series that one side has truly dominated it will be a travesty.

McCullum will ultimately be judged by results – that is the currency of sport – but whatever the outcome of this addictive Ashes, England have been blessed by his enlightened thinking.

Good week – Bunkers

Pro golfers usually don’t bat an eyelid at the sight of sand but the Royal Liverpool traps have proved to be hazards worthy of the name. The Hoylake bunkers have been brutal to everyone, Major champions included, but The Open Championship has been all the better for it.

Too often in regular Tour events an excursion to a bunker is like a beach break for the players with no penalty whatsoever for their inaccuracy. They even aim for them sometimes. In contrast, this championship’s perilous potholes have been card wreckers.

It is unbecoming to be vindictive but there is nothing better for a hacker than to see the top stars experience the pain of the game now and again. The pros may have moaned about them but if you don’t like them there is a solution. Don’t go in them.

Bad week – Rottach-Egern FC

The ninth-tier German side crashed to a 27-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in a pre-season friendly. The Bavarian amateurs enjoyed home advantage at the 1,000-capacity Sportsplatz Birkenmoos but it turned out not to be much use as Bayern – German champions for the last 11 seasons – threatened to burn out the scoreboard.

On the plus side, the second half was an improvement on the first for Rottach-Egern having gone in at half-time 18-0 down – although Thomas Tuchel did make 11 changes at the interval.

The last time the two clubs faced each other in 2019 Bayern ran out 23-0 winners. Bayern’s meeting with Manchester City in Tokyo on Wednesday is likely to be an altogether more competitive affair.

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