With a new managing director, new head coach and now a new captain it is a new slate for the red-ball team. And there can be no doubt that the much-vaunted ‘reset’ is real, and designed to correct mistakes that have been made in the last few years. 

I would be giving England’s best players longer contracts. I cannot fathom these one-year deals. How are Root and Stokes on one-year contracts? The same with the quicker bowlers. Longer contracts will give players less incentive to play in the Indian Premier League and other overseas T20 leagues, meaning they will be fresh and fit for the national side. I would be having my best players on longer contracts. 

The conveyer belt has not worked for a while – it is just not there. The batting averages do not lie, and only one player who has made their debut since 2015 is averaging over 30 – Rory Burns, only just averaging that much. So something has not been right in the system for a while. Maybe that is the pitches in county cricket. How can you expect batsmen to do it at the highest level? And England have to find a world-class spinner from somewhere, although that is easier said than done.

So Stokes will not have it easy – you can only deal with the players you’ve got. But keeping selection simple can make things a lot easier.

We have seen that England like to plan, but this summer they just have to win games of cricket. That will mean Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad coming back. Stokes, I am pretty sure, will need at least one of those two in each Test.

I have always been one to build for the Ashes. But now the Test team have a record of just one victory in 17 Tests. Ben and the new team around him must decide on our best XI and go all-out to win that first game at Lord’s. Then captaincy becomes so much easier.