England’s 2024 report card in cricket as they sought to reposition their sides in red ball as well as white ball cricket.
England’s 2024 seen them reposition their sides as the past made way for the future.
Ben Stokes once asserted that Brad Pitt’s tank commander in the World War II movie Fury served as his inspiration for captaincy. He occasionally seemed more like Tom Cruise’s cunning sports agent Jerry Maguire during a locker-room tantrum in a grumpy 2024.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be me out here for you!” In response to the ICC’s intransigence regarding their tardy over-rates, Stokes cocked a snook at the World Test Championship. Stokes’ one-team mission to make Test cricket fun again was met with a pronounced lack of gratitude, including widespread criticism of their eight frequently thumping defeats out of 17 Tests played.
However, considering the excitement of Bazball 1.0 just 18 months prior, this year was largely a year of repositioning for England’s sides, both red and white. Apologies for a low-key home summer against West Indies and Sri Lanka, as well as somewhat samey trips of Pakistan and New Zealand.
By the end of February, the Test team’s main goal—to win in India—had failed, and three significant losses had been suffered: Ben Foakes, Jonny Bairstow, and James Anderson. Similarly, head coach Matthew Mott was responsible for a T20 World Cup defence that was far less impressive than England’s performance in the semi-finals would indicate.
But from the beginning, the future appeared bright. Harry Brook and Joe Root’s 454-run partnership in Multan served as the backdrop for their successive ascents to the top of the ICC batting rankings, while Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jamie Smith, and Jacob Bethell were among the Test debutants who took their stage right away.
With a home rematch against India scheduled for the summer and the 2025–26 Ashes to follow, England’s 2024 transgressions will be forgiven if 2025 proves to be a memorable year.
With the Ashes looming in the upcoming year, much of the same will apply to England’s women. Their disastrous performance at the T20 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stages by the West Indies, quickly put an end to their undefeated home season against Pakistan and New Zealand. In order to wrap out a successful multi-format tour of South Africa and prepare for their major tournament in 2025, Heather Knight’s team did, however, finish the year with their first Test victory in a decade.