England’s men’s Test players could be denied any team practice before next summer’s main series against Pakistan because of a congested calendar that means the first Test at Headingley starts two or three days after the Hundred final at Lord’s.
While next year’s Hundred dates have yet to be confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Guardian has learned that the final is pencilled in for Sunday 16 August, with Monday a reserve day. This would leave England players involved in the final possibly having to travel to Leeds the day before the Test match, which begins on Wednesday 19 August, with no time to practise with their teammates.
The packed schedule risks a repeat of the poor preparation that has undermined England’s white-ball side this week in their one-day series against South Africa, who sealed a 2-0 victory with a five-run win at Lord’s on Thursday.
South Africa had won the first game at Headingley on Tuesday by seven wickets after England had been unable to train as a squad beforehand, with Joe Root, Will Jacks, Tom Banton, Rehan Ahmed, and Saqib Mahmood all travelling the day before the game, having played in the Hundred final between Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets on Sunday.
“In an ideal world we’d have liked to meet up yesterday and train yesterday, train today and go into the game as a group,” said Harry Brook, the captain, this week.
Given the technical and mental adjustments required when moving from shorter formats such as the Hundred to Test cricket, the lack of practice time could be more problematic next summer, even allowing for the scale of England’s defeat at Headingley. Brook’s side were bowled out for 131 in 24.3 overs, with South Africa completing a rapid victory in the day-night game just as the floodlights came on, with 175 balls to spare.
To make matters even more challenging, the new Hundred owners will be demanding more appearances from England players next year after several sat out the opening round of games last month as the competition started the day after the thrilling conclusion of the five-match Test series against India. London Spirit were without Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton for their first game against Oval Invincibles at Lord’s, which led to a complaint from Nikesh Arora, leader of the so-called Tech Titans who have bought 49% of the franchise.
A similar issue is likely to present itself next year, as the draft schedule for the Hundred has the competition starting on Tuesday 21 July, two days after the conclusion of England’s three-match one-day international series against India at Lord’s the previous Sunday.
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England also have five Twenty20 games against India in July following a three-match Test series against New Zealand in June, before the August Pakistan series and six further white-ball games against Sri Lanka in September. Brook, Root and up to half a dozen others will be required to play in all six series, as well as the Hundred, in an unrelenting schedule that the Professional Cricketers’ Association regards as unsustainable and potentially dangerous.
While the coach, Brendon McCullum, has opted to rest senior players from three T20s in Ireland later this month, there is little prospect of him doing so against better opposition next summer, not least as England are eighth in the International Cricket Council’s one-day rankings and only the top eight are guaranteed a place at the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.
