If you can't beat them, hire them

England look to emulate their opponents, New Zealand, to lay the foundations for future success. Will it succeed, asks James Fisher

- James Fisher

SO long to the winter of our discontent and prepare to be made glorious by this son of Durham. This is the message from the ECB on the eve of England's first Test match of the summer. Heads have rolled and been replaced. Where once there was Ashley Giles, there is now Rob Key. Tom Harrison will soon exit stage right, pursued by a bear (the bear, in this case, being his decision to accept part of a £2.1 million bonus after making 62 ECB staff redundant mid pandemic). Joe Root will step away from the captaincy, to be replaced by Ben Stokes. At the helm of the team will be Brendon McCullum, the big hitting ex-Kiwi captain widely credited with revolutionising the white-ball format and laying the foundations for a New Zealand Test side that are current world champions. It is that very same New Zealand who will be the first to put this newlook England side under some scrutiny.