SHANE Warne never played a Test match in Multan but his presence is with England this week, his influence shining through in the way they play their cricket.

Warne died nine months ago, before the appointments that changed English cricket. As a massive anglophile, he would have relished England’s new style after years of decrying their conservatism. They have played the Warne way ever since director of cricket Rob Key appointed Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Warne worked with Stokes at Rajasthan Royals, was friends with McCullum, regularly playing the New Zealand Open golf tournament with him, and was a huge influence on Key, the pair getting to know each other through county cricket and Sky.

“My mindset was that I might not be able to play the game like him, but I can at least think like him,” wrote Key in his Evening Standard column when Warne died. “My whole philosophy on the game is built on chats with Warney, whether 20 years ago or more recently on the golf course or around the Sky commentary box. When Peter Willey was umpiring Kent, he would joke that ‘Warney’s here setting the fields again’.”

You could almost hear Warne talking when Stokes spoke about his declaration in Rawalpindi. “I’ve got no interest in playing for a draw; the dressing room has got no interest in playing for draws.”

Not long before he died Warne tweeted about declarations: “Thinking about declarations a bit more and risking losing to win is the key for a team to learn how to win with either bat or ball.”

The funky field settings, the limitless positivity, the willingness to try something new, belief you can win from any situation and in any conditions – including a dead pitch in Rawalpindi when the whole squad is ill – courses through England now and Warne would be their biggest fan, regardless of Ashes rivalry.

McCullum and Stokes urge their players to be ‘rock stars’ – a phrase Warne would use too, but there are differences as well. Warne could be harsh and cruel at times, picking on opponents and team-mates he perceived as not trying hard enough.

Stokes and McCullum are more empathetic and have a softer edge. England are respectful of opponents and McCullum’s teams do not sledge. Warne might have found that hard to maintain.

Warne and Stokes, despite their abundant talent, worked hard at their game. But Warne would do what was necessary. He would bowl for five hours in the nets if he felt that was what he needed. Other times it would be half an hour if rhythm came quickly.

Under Stokes and McCullum England similarly train with a purpose. Work on skills but give it everything, rather than train at 60 per cent for a couple of hours a day for show. “You want players to come out of the nets and the skills that they show in the nets, you want them to go out there to the middle and have no consequences,” says assistant coach Paul Collingwood.

Stokes’s man management – making lesser mortals feel invincible – is best exhibited in Jack Leach, who could barely get a game outside Asia. “He would be seen as that guy who came on for a spell and tried to give the seamers a break,” said Stokes. “He’s not in that role in this team. We see him as a very aggressive wicket-taking option.”

It sounds like Key’s anecdote about Warne from when he was Kent captain and asked him to give young spinner Adam Riley a pep talk. “I told Riley that I had a mate who wanted to talk spin with him. He looked confused but, when he heard Warney’s voice, his eyes lit up. With Warney clearly still in bed, they chatted for 45 minutes before we went on. Riley was buzzing. He took five wickets and we won.”

WINNING WITH STYLE IS THE ULTIMATE
Key thought of Warne when sitting through one of the ECB’s high-performance review meetings earlier this year. One of the speakers in the early stages was Dave Brailsford, the cycling mastermind. Brailsford spent just a couple of hours in the discussions but his message about what high performance means was seen in Rawalpindi.

Brailsford felt there was no point being automatons that win without a smile, micromanaging everything and forgetting to entertain – his Team Sky were not loved by many. Then there was losing with no style – think of England on the last Ashes tour. The ultimate is to win with style but if you also play with flair and lose, others will still respect you and that is England’s approach now.

“I always tried to change the tempo of matches … I always looked to do the very thing the opposition didn’t want me to do,” wrote Warne in his last autobiography.

Like batting at seven an over, bowling bouncers with the new ball on a flat heap of a pitch and luring Pakistan into playing big shots chasing an improbable target. Yes, Warne is here with this England team. (The Telegraph)