These matches will determine how history remembers Ben Stokes' England - they will stretch the side to the limit but they must make sure they don't slip up against Zimbabwe first, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH

Daily Mail​

21-05-2025

The recent update of the Test rankings might normally have been ignored by an England team obsessed with the here and now. But the elevation of Ben Stokes 's side to second place has provided a rallying cry at the start of 11 matches that will determine how history remembers his captaincy.
The cry came in the form of a WhatsApp from Stokes to head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key. And it was as matter of fact as it was ambitious: 'We've got one more place to go.'
If that sounds like the kind of message that irks opponents fed up of hearing about Bazball and its ambitions, Stokes explained the logic by way of a golfing metaphor: 'If we win what we've got coming up, the likelihood is we'll be at the top of that leaderboard. There's no doubt in my mind we have the ability to be that team.'
'One more place to go' sounds simple, but it involves beating India at home and Australia away, both in gruelling five-match series that will stretch England to the limit, mentally and physically. It also assumes they don't slip up in the four-day game against Zimbabwe, which starts on Thursday in Nottingham.
But if Stokes's team do reach the summit this winter, they will be breathing rarefied air. Not since 2012 under Andrew Strauss have England topped the Test rankings – as distinct from the deeply flawed World Test Championship, which has been compromised by a messy structure and draconian over-rate penalties, and drew widely mocked grumbles from Stokes during the tour of New Zealand.
Before that, according to the ICC's retrospective calculations, England had not been No 1 since the late 1970s, when other sides were weakened by defections to Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. And while Stokes does not like to get ahead of himself, there is no doubt that England plan to use the idea as a goal, just as Strauss and head coach Andy Flower did when they joined forces in 2009 – two years before whitewashing India to claim top spot.
Stokes and McCullum are entering the fourth summer of a compelling alliance that has brought them six series wins out of 10 and only two defeats – a record that explains why only Australia now lie ahead of them in the rankings.
'Baz uses this phrase a lot: we're starting from a place of strength,' said Stokes. 'So for us to be able to build on that – and everyone knows we have got improvement to do – it's very exciting. We've definitely got another level to go to.'
England's first Test against Zimbabwe since 2003 is not entirely a red herring, but Stokes's insistence that Jacob Bethell – who is missing this game because of IPL duties – will resume his career against India at Headingley on June 20 could render vice-captain Ollie Pope's output this week irrelevant.
Stokes and McCullum were so taken with Bethell's debut series in New Zealand before Christmas that he has been earmarked for the No 3 position ever since. Pope's only consolation is that two scenarios other than his own dropping could conceivably play out.
The first is that England lose patience with Zak Crawley, who survived a horror tour of New Zealand because of past deeds against India and Australia. Since his routinely early dismissal meant Bethell was effectively playing as an opener, an official promotion to that role ought not to faze him.
The second involves the spin of Shoaib Bashir, who Stokes conceded is still 'learning on the job' and this summer has managed two championship wickets at 152 each while on loan from Somerset to Glamorgan. If England lose their nerve in what has looked dangerously close to a pet project, Bethell's left-arm spin could yet squeeze out Bashir's off-breaks, while deepening the batting and electrifying the fielding.
For now, all Pope can do is cloud the selectors' thinking with a big score against a Zimbabwe side who have warmed up with a 138-run defeat by a modest First-Class Counties Select XI at Leicester.
If he can forestall his demise with a match-winning innings, he will not be the only one raising a glass. After abstaining from alcohol since January 2 as part of his recovery from hamstring surgery, Stokes will celebrate in familiar fashion if Nottingham provides the Bazballers with a 23rd win from their 36 Tests.
'When I got injured I thought, right, I'm not going to have a drink until my rehab's done or I'm back on the field,' he said. 'It was just a decision I made to myself and something I'm being a bit more mindful of when it comes to my preparation and recovery, especially this summer with everything that's coming up. If we win, I'll have a drink – definitely.'
If England keep toasting their success all the way to the top of the rankings, their cup really will run over.
Archer injured again
Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the one-day series against West Indies, starting at Edgbaston next week, after injuring his right thumb. Lancashire quick Luke Wood has been added to the squad.