England have changed the face of Test match cricket with the way they have approached their tour of Pakistan, says former assistant manager Paul Farbrace.
An attacking statement in Rawalpindi gave England an early lead in their first series in Pakistan since 2005.
“You could come in and say it’s really tough, flat ground, we’ll play for a draw,” Farbrace told BBC Radio Sussex.
“If you take that attitude towards the sport, I think it’s pretty pointless – what England are doing is fantastic.”
Farbrace, who took over as head coach at Sussex last week after stepping down as Warwickshire sporting director during the summer, was part of the England coaching roster for five years from 2014 to 2019.
“I was part of the one day squad where we said enough was enough – we’re not winning, we’re not producing players to play international cricket at the highest level, we have to change the way we play. play,” he added.
“We changed the way we played – and in doing so, the world changed the way we played white-ball cricket.”
Robinson ‘will get no favors’
Farbrace’s appointment at Hove means he will take charge of his stepson Ollie Robinson – the speedy Sussex bowler who won 4-50 in Pakistan’s second leg to help England secure their momentous victory on Monday.
Although the 55-year-old knows their time together will be limited due to the sailor’s international duties, he hopes to build on Robinson’s experiences with England’s new setup.
“Hopefully he doesn’t play too many games for us – hopefully he continues to play for England and continues to perform well in test match cricket,” Farbrace added.
“But when he is available I expect him to be there, setting a good example and showing why he is an English cricketer.
“In Warwickshire, when we used to have [Dom] Sibley, [Olly] Rock, [Chris] Woakes – when they were back in the dressing room I wanted them there, talking about playing for England.
“I wanted them to talk about the next show they were going to be involved in or the tour they just did because it inspires other people.
“If Ollie comes back and he just played a test match, tell the guys what you learn. Why [Brendon] McCullum so good? Why is it [Ben] Stokes such a good captain? What can we learn from them, what can we improve in?
“He won’t get any favors from me. I want him to play for England as long as he can, but if we get the chance for him to play for us, we’ll want him to play – I want him to get five wickets.”
“I want to win trophies”
By the time the Sussexes begin the 2023 season, almost eight years will have passed since they last played in the County Championship Premier League, having been relegated in 2015.
They have contested promotion often during this period but finished seventh, one place down, in 2022 and Farbrace says ambitions must soar.
“The club is in a very good position with so many talented cricketers, fantastic facilities,” added Farbrace, who led Sri Lanka to the Twenty20 World Cup in 2014.
“But you don’t want to get to a point where your young players become complacent and think ‘I’m a young player, I’ve got time’ – there’s a bit of patience but they also have to perform.
“They may be 20, 21, 22, but they are professional cricketers and that comes with a responsibility to perform. I’m excited about the potential, but we have to stop talking about potential and start talking about performance. .
“And that puts pressure on me because I might hide behind the fact and say, well, it’ll take two or three years – I don’t have two or three years to mess around and waste, hoping people will come good.
“I want to stay stuck and start winning tomorrow and my expectations – first game of the season, I expect to win this.
“I want to win trophies, I want to be in Edgbaston for the day of the final with Sussex, I want to win the 50th anniversary cup, I want to get into the Premier League and fight against the big teams, the big clubs on a base weekly.
“With no disrespect, I don’t want to be in the Second Division – I want to challenge the top teams for the County Championship, so with that will come a level of expectation from our players.”
