England face red-ball leadership crisis after Stokes's departure

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Finding a candidate to lead the red-ball side is no easy task, with Ben Stokes gone and Brendon McCullum still around

As England’s men scatter for the Hundred, ready to pull on new colours, ingratiate themselves with their new paymasters and use the word “exciting” repeatedly, the management above them could be forgiven for letting out a sigh of relief.

Not that everything is shipshape going into their month-long recess. Far from it. Test cricket is king in this country, No 1 across all age groups and demographics – as per Richard Gould, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, in his Ashes review in March – and in that regard the first half of the season still goes down as a bit of a shambles.

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