England have not played a Test match for nearly five months but will start again on Thursday with the first of three fixtures against New Zealand.
Fans might have expected this to be the beginning of a fresh era with new head coach having replaced the disgraced Brendon McCullum, the myth of Bazball having been finally dispensed with.
But in fact, McCullum has kept his job – and so has his boss Rob Key – but England have at least named three uncapped players in the squad for the first Test, suggesting the winds of change are beginning to blow through the ranks.
There is also a new selector with Durham’s director of cricket Marcus North taking over from Luke Wright to strengthen the links between the county game and the England team.
McCullum’s return to the media spotlight has been carefully managed (Photo: Getty)
