Brendon McCullum appraised 12 months of fluctuating fortunes for England's Test side, and looked ahead to a defining year against India and Australia, it was hard not to wonder if a coach known for his gambler's outlook had let slip a tell.
The 2-1 series victory in New Zealand tipped England's ledger for 2024 to nine Test wins and eight defeats, all while introducing fresh personnel into the setup and dropping the average age of the side by nearly five years. "We're a better team than we were back then," said McCullum, looking back to the start of the overhaul.
With this came his belief that England will soon "be able to take on the best teams in the world", with Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jacob Bethell and Jamie Smith all namechecked for promising starts to their Test careers. As regards the makeup of the top order next year, and where Ollie Pope slots into it, there were no guarantees.
A fortnight ago in Wellington, Ben Stokes had "no doubt" Pope would be back to his preferred spot at No 3 next summer. His vice-captain dutifully took on wicketkeeping duties for the series after Smith's absence for paternity leave was followed by Jordan Cox, the intended stand-in, suffering a broken thumb at the start of the tour.
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