England have a clear goal this summer following the release of the ICC’s new world rankings, with Ben Stokes’ side currently sitting at No.2 behind old rivals Australia
Ben Stokes will happily fall off the wagon if England take the first steps towards reclaiming No.1 in the Test charts at Trent Bridge.
When the International Cricket Council’s rankings, based loosely on the science of a lottery tombola, were revised earlier this month, England surfaced at No.2 behind Australia.
But with a marquee series against India later this summer, and the legacy-defining Ashes tour in November, Stokes fancies planting the Cross of St George back at the summit.
After the updated rankings were published, the England captain sent coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key his mission statement in a five-word text message: “One more place to go.”
England have not been at No.1 in Test cricket since August 2012, when Sir Andrew Strauss was skipper.
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And while the one-off, four-day Test against Zimbabwe is expected to be target practice ahead of an Indian summer and glory-or-bust assignment in Australia, Stokes admitted he has his eyes on the top spot.
He stopped drinking alcohol in January to help his recovery from surgery to repair a torn hamstring, but will permit himself a celebratory snifter if England get their international summer off to a winning start.
Stokes said: ”When the rankings came out, I did send Baz and Keys a text saying we’ve got one more place to go.
“If we’re able to accomplish the things that I believe we’re able to accomplish, and if we win (the series) we’ve got coming up, the likelihood is that we will be at the top of the leaderboard. There’s no doubt in my mind that we have the ability to be able to be that team.
“We’re trying to take all the good things we’ve built over the last three years, adding to all the good stuff that we’ve managed to achieve and all the good things that we’ve created in that dressing room, and we thought this was the absolute perfect time to do that.
“Have we got another level to go in terms of our development? Absolutely – Baz uses this phrase a lot, but we’re starting from a position of strength. Everyone understands we have definitely got another level or two to go to.”
Stokes looks chiselled after his rehab programme and booze ban. He is fit to bowl against Zimbabwe, although his workload will be finite.
He explained: “When I got injured, I just decided I’m not gonna have a drink until my rehab’s done and I’m back on the field. There’s no benefit to having alcohol in your body so, yeah, it was a decision that I just made for myself.
“And I’m being a bit more mindful of it when it comes to my preparation and recovery, especially with the big summer and everything we’ve got coming up.
“Obviously I’ve had a few injuries over the last couple of years – the left leg’s gone through a bit trauma with the surgeries it’s had in a short period of time, so I’m just making sure that I’m giving myself the best possible chance when I’m out there competing.
“I’ve not stopped drinking – I just decided not to. But if we win, I’ll have a drink. Definitely.”
After McCullum’s pointed memo to his players to “show some humility” after claims they paid too much attention to golf and not enough to net practice, there is no danger of England’s Bazball cavaliers suddenly converting to shrinking violets.
Stokes expects more of the same – assertive, audacious cricket – and he said: “I always want to win every single time I walk on that field, but there’s a few things that we felt we needed to change.
“Hopefully it becomes very clear to our fans and everyone that everything that we do is about winning.
“I want this team to to dominate series, to dominate days, dominate every session. It’s not always going to happen like that, but that’s the mindset that I want us to go out with every single day, so everything is is aimed towards winning.”
Zimbabwe, playing their first Test in England since 2000, are 25-1 virtual no-hopers with the bookies, but their pace attack will be led by 6ft 8in Blessing Muzarabani, who warned: “We believe in ourselves. We believe we can win.”
