From Bad To Worse For England

 

 

Cricket 2014

 

And the problems just get worse

 

November 29^th 2014

 

A week ago, I wrote:

“The 7-match series against Sri Lanka will be a good litmus test as Sri Lanka were absolutely awful as stand-in stuntmen for the West Indies in India. If England lose badly, it will be no good blaming the schedule, the lack of practice, team absences or the fact that Sri Lanka’s chefs cannot find the right ingredients for the England diet guide’s recipes.”

Two matches. Two defeats. No one has any illusions that it will not finish 7-0. Thanks to heroics from Moeen Ali and Ravi Bopara, the first game was close. The second has been simply embarrassing. The mantra is to take the positives and there have been none, apart from another nice innings from Ravi Bopara as the batting fell apart. This time Moeen Ali could not cover for the deficiencies of others with a quick-fire innings at the top of the order.

The batting was poor, the captaincy was worse. With bowlers having most success by taking pace off the ball, the decision to give Ravi Bopara just four overs in the first ODI and none in the second was hard to fathom. The fact that Bopara was by far the most economical bowler in the 1^st ODI makes it even harder to understand.

There is a strong suggestion that team selection is mainly made now on the grounds of the captain wishing to repel boarders. It is just about the only tenable conclusion when a player as talented and as successful in limited overs cricket last season as James Taylor cannot get a game. Alistair Cook knows that James Taylor would be a plausible alternative as ODI captain if he establishes a place in the side; he has most to lose if James Taylor plays and makes a success of it.

Similarly, with Moeen Ali making a success of opening, Alex Hales would, logically, only get a game at the expense of the captain.

Ah! The captain! Sixteen ODIs in 2014, but just one 50, falling in the 40s no less than four times. Only three times has he failed to reach double figures in an ODI in 2014, but the weight of runs is just not there and, all too often, when he gets past 20 and needs to move up a gear, he is getting out. His form is not dreadful, but if he is to have a place in the side he must either anchor the innings consistently at a decent pace for 30 overs and make some big scores, or learn to work the ball around to keep the score ticking through the powerplay overs so that the side gets fast starts. Watching him play out a maiden as Moeen Ali treated the bowling on its merits at the other end was a little painful to watch.

Eoin Morgan started the year with 282 runs in the 5 ODIs in Australia. Since then he has had 12 innings and reached 20 just four times, amassing 206 runs. Morgan’s place must be coming under severe threat, if only as a wake-up call to him. Scores of 1, 31, 3, 40, 12, 17, 28, 10, 32, 14, 1 & 17 are just not good enough. Nine times he has reached double figures, just four has he reached 20: he is getting starts and getting out.

Less culpable is Ian Bell. He has 4x50 in ODIs in 2014, although none since May. Since then, he has gone slightly, but distinctly off the boil. However, today was his 150^th ODI. He is just short of 5000 ODI runs and his 2014 numbers are very close to his career figures, which should save him from most criticism.

With talent of the class of Hales, Lumb, Taylor and Ballance unable to get a game and England losing and the World Cup getting closer, Alistair Cook cannot afford more defeats, or personal failures. A batting order starting Lumb, Hales, Moeen Ali, Bopara, Taylor, Root & Buttler might not win the World Cup, but would at least give England a chance of shocking a few sides. With Broad and Anderson to return, Finn on his comeback and Woakes showing signs that he is making good his talent, England would start to have the basis of a decent side that would bat very deep.

One wonders if Alistair Cook will survive as captain if England lose 7-0, or even 6-1, even if he starts to score some runs: how much patience do the selectors have with him? Possibly not much more.