England ODI Dilemma

One Day Internationals aren't everyone's favourite format of the game, it definitely isn't mine, but the issue of England being relatively shit is still fairly problematic. So I thought I'd come up with my England XI that I would like to see play in Sri Lanka in a couple of months, who, I think, are slightly less shit than the team that tried to beat India in the summer.

1. Alaister Cook - Personally, I would love to see Cook just focus on test cricket and drop the ODI's, but it's too close to the World Cup to do that now. So he's opening the batting for my England XI. If the world cup were in two years, I'd get Cook out of the scene, and bring Jason Roy in.

2. Alex Hales - Hales has had a fantastic domestic season for Notts, and fully deserved his call ups in the recent games against India. He counteracts the steady batting of Cook and could potentially give us that flying start that is crucial in this format.

3. Joe Root - Root has had mixed fortunes for England in the last 18 months. After hitting that huge century against Australia at Lords, many expected to see him kick on and help England win the Ashes down under. That didn't happen for him, but it has to be remembered that he's still young at the age of 23 and he still has the best part of 10 years to improve as a player. For that reason, he has to be in the team.

4. Eoin Morgan - Morgan isn't everyone's favourite England player, he personally isn't mine. I don't think he's good enough to be in the test team, but when it comes to ODI's, he gives us something that some of our top order lack; flair. His array of shots have the ability to turn a game on its head, couple that with his damn fine fielding and you've got yourself a bloody good one day player.

5. Moeen Ali - After the summer that Moeen Ali had, I'm hoping his place in my team doesn't need too much justification. His spin came on leaps and bounds, and I want him to be our front line spinner against Sri Lanka. Joe Root can also be utilised for his part time spin if Ali isn't on the money.

6. Ravi Bopara - Along with Morgan, I think Bopara is nowhere near up to test standards. His record says all you need to know, after his first few games against West Indies he never fulfilled his potential, and he was rightfully dropped from the team. But he is a very useful all rounder in one day cricket, winning games for Essex and England in the last few years. His bowling can slow the game down, and his batting can speed it up. He's my number six.

7. Jos Buttler - Wicketkeeper batsman. This guy is a matchwinner. Alex Hales can start an innings, Bell can fill the middle overs, but Buttler has the ability to come in and blow away the opposition in the final stages of a match. Not only that, but he excites people. He envisages everything we want England ODI cricket to be like, and he'll be the cornerstone of hopefully, a better England ODI team in the next few years.

8. Sam Billings - When I first wrote this post, I put Ian Bell in at 3. But then I remembered all the times I'd watched England play ODI cricket, and within minutes I'd put Friends back on because of how dull we can be at times. For this reason, I've gone for Sam Billings at 3. Is it a gamble? Yes, of course it's a gamble, Bell is a proven player where as Billings hasn't even got a cap, but it's risks like these that need to be taken if we are going to progress at all in the form. I've taken the risk, Bell is gone, I've replaced him with Billings and moved Root up to 3.

9. Ben Stokes - Like Joe Root, Stokes came into the England team last year and hit that great century in Perth. He has had more downs than ups since then, but for me, he's good enough with bat and ball to hold his own in international one day cricket.

10. James Anderson - Anderson hasn't got too many years left in him at the top level, but he's still good enough to bowl well at the start of an innings. He was one of the first names in my England XI.

11. Steven Finn - England's bowling doesn't always impress me, in fact, it mostly doesn't. But Finn has just got that extra bit of pace which can do damage in a bowling attack. Since my other bowlers are hardly rapid, I've put Finn in at 11 to spice things up a bit.

Who have I left out?

Ian Bell - Bell is a great of recent times, and his record speaks for himself. But at this time, England need quick, exciting players to take the game to the opposition. For me, Bell doesn't quite do that, which is why he's not in my XI.

James Tredwell - For the same reasons as Bell, Tredwell is a gonner. Although Sri Lanka does clearly offer spin friendly wickets, the world cup is in Australia & New Zealand where this is not always the case.

James Taylor - I just couldn't fit James Taylor into my team, but if Root or Morgan don't perform to expectations, he's a damn fine player to come instead.

Clearly a change in tactics needs to be implemented also if we're to make any significant gains against Sri Lanka and then the World Cup (more aggressive batting, disciplined, tactical bowling and better fielding) but with this team, I think we're a better team than the one who faced India in the summer.

My England Team

Earlier today I saw the BBC Cricket page. On it was a post about who four different people thought should be the England XI come the summer tests against Sri Lanka. These four were Phil Tuffnell, Steve Harmison, Michael Vaughan and Simon Hughes. It goes without saying that these four clearly know their stuff, but I didn't agree completely with any of the teams that they had picked. So I thought I would have a go at creating my own team. So here goes.

1 - Captain Cook.

England captain. World class opening batsman. He is the only man that I have put into this team without even hesitating. Although there have been some calls (mainly by people who know little about cricket) for his head after the 5-0 defeat down under, Cook is a quality batsman and an ever learning captain. Because of this he is, for my money, going to be facing the first ball of an England innings come June.

2 - Joe Root

He showed his massive potential in the summer against the Aussies, and was labelled as a future opening batsman. With the ageing  Michael Carberry failing to capitalise on his chance to shine and cement a spot as opener, Root is the obvious choice for me. He may not hit the ground running, he will take time to mould into an international opener,  but with a busy summer ahead, I believe Root should be the given the chance to play every test against Sri Lanka and India and solidify most peoples belief that he is a star in the making.

3 - Ian Bell

Every BBC writer had Ian Bell as their number 3, and I'm no different. A genuine stroke player, we all know what Bell is capable of. Of course this could all change if Jonathan Trott makes a drastic recovery and regains some form, but unfortunatly I can't see this happening.

4 - Kevin Pietersen

Like Cook, there have been some calls for KP to be for the chop, but I can't see why. Yes he got out playing some "interesting" shots during the series, but he still scored more runs than anyone else in the England camp. Could definitely do with a few games with Surrey rather than the IPL to regain his mojo, but he's in my team every day of the week.

5 - Gary Ballance

I rate Ballance highly as a player, and that is the reason why he is in my team. He steadied the sinking ship in the first innings at Sydney, showing his credentials as an England player. His full potential has yet to be seen, so I would like to see him be given his chance for the three tests against Sri Lanka, and then review the number 5 position against India.

6 - Ben Stokes

Before the winter I thought Stokes wasn't good enough. I thought his bowling would get hit to all parts and he would be score poorly with the bat. I was wrong. He has been excellent. A battling hundred in Perth, and six wickets in Sydney. This lad can play. After Captain Cook he was the second name on my teamsheet. Looking forward to seeing what he can offer in home conditions. Hopefully it will be even better than what we all saw in Oz.

7 - Matt Prior

Jonny Bairstow has had his fair share of chances in the England team. His batting is okay, but I just can't see him hitting big centuries on the international stage. As for his keeping, he looked like a man who hasn't spent enough time with the gloves on. That's why Matt Prior is in my team. An experienced gloveman, who I think will return all guns blazing with the bat in the summer, he is a top class player. Like Pietersen, could definitely do with a couple of games for his county.

8 - Scott Borthwick

This spinners position was a bit of a toss up between Borthwick and Panesar. Panesar is a good player, not world class, but he will take wickets. But Borthwick can offer a lot more with the bat than Monty, which is part of the reason I have chosen him. Like Ballance, I would give him the three tests against Sri Lanka and bring in Monty if he's poor.

9 - Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad is a very good bowler. He can devastate a batting lineup in a spell of bowling when he's on song. For this reason he is in my team. Simple.

10 - James Anderson

Jimmy is a brilliant swing bowler. He didn't have the best series in Australia, but back in home conditions I'll be backing him to pick up 30 wickets if not more wickets in the 8 tests England have this summer. He is no spring chicken, but for this summer at least, he offers a hell of a lot to this England bowling attack.

11 - Graham Onions

I think Graham Onions is a fantastic bowler. I can't see why he hasn't been in the test side more. Finn goes for too many runs, and should spend the summer playing for Middlesex. Bresnan is a handy bowler to have but I think Onions is better. Mills is only 21, give him another couple of years to develop and become a better bowler. I think Onions has the ability to take bagfuls of wickets this summer, and he has done everything on the county circuit to merit being picked.

Only time will tell if my 11 is accurate or complete rubbish, but I think, with this 11 playing, we can blow away Sri Lanka and then India this summer...

Where has it all gone wrong?

Hallway through the 4th test down under, and England are in pole position. After being put into bat (wrongly in my opinion) England continue the trend of the series. Batsmen are settling at the crease, but not converting their starts into a game changing innings. All of the top five got starts, getting to at least 20 each. After Johnson blew away the tail (yes, again) we were all out for 255. Considering the decent start we got, it was undoubtably under par. In reply I was expecting another big score from Australia, but I was wrong. Brad Haddin, who has been a constant thorn in England's side for the entirety of this series, and late resistance from Nathan Lyon, meant that England's lead was kept down to a steady lead of 50. Although it could have been a much higher lead, it still meant that England had a good advantage going into their second innings.

I stayed up till 1 30 (lunch) to see how England fared. We were 50 odd for 0. Carberry had looked a little shaky, but he was still at the crease, and Cook had been fluent and positive in his start. Even with England's soft batting underbelly in the series, I expected to wake up in the morning to find out that we had set the Australians at least 300 to win as a minimum. How wrong was I? 179 all out. My hopes had been dashed. 

The aussies made light work of the run chase. A second batting collapse was no option for Michael Clarke's men, and England were 4-0 down. Slack fielding in the shape of dropped catches didn't help England's cause, although even if they would have been taken I would have backed Australia to get over the line. 

So with one test match to go, the ashes already lost, and a 5-0 series whitewash looking inevitable for Cook and co, where has it all gone wrong?

Firstly, England's batting has not been good enough. Ben Stokes is the only player to score a century, and this highlights why England find themselves 4-0 down. Too many good starts for players, not enough conversions into high scores. Carberry is a prime example. 40 in his first innings of the series at Brisbane, 60 at Adelaide, 43 and 31 at Perth and 38 at the MCG. He's looked decent, played some nice strokes, and for the majority of his time spent at the crease he's looked relatively comfortable. But he has yet to hit that big score that changes the game in England's favour and cements his place in the team. Granted he's had some bad luck with dismissals but this can't totally be blamed for his lack of a game changing total. The same goes for captain Cook, Pietersen and Bell. As for the lower order, they've been blown away nearly every time with little resistance. They've almost looked scared to face Mitchell Johnson at times, and while I think James Anderson and Monty Panesar can be excused for not scoring, Broad, Swann, Bresnan, and Prior/Bairstow have got to hit some vital runs lower down the order.

The bowling is the next reason why we've failed. The conditions don't suit James Anderson, Broad has been good in patches, Bresnan doesn't quite cut the mustard for my money and Stokes has got potential but isn't the full product yet. Swann earlier in the series was targeted by the Australians and didn't cause too many problems. So what is the solution to our bowling woes? Although it isn't a big a problem as our batting, there's still a lot of room for improvement. Firstly, I think we should have brought either Tremlett/Rankin in from the start of the series. They can bang the ball in, and I think would be able to blow the tail away in a similar way to Mitchell Johnson. Finn can do this too, but personally I think he leaks too many runs. And secondly, the core bowlers, Anderson and Broad, need to regain their best form if we have any chance of preventing a 5-0 scoreline.

Lastly, a huge amount of credit needs to be given to our Australian opponents. Beaten 3-0 in the summer (a closer scoreline would have been fairer), they have played exceptionally well. Harris and Siddle have kept things very tight, plugging away ball after ball while Johnson has been the one grabbing the headlines. As for the batting, Watson and Rogers have given the Aussies more good starts than bad, while Haddin has come in late to hit some match changing runs towards the later of the innings. Smith, a player I don't particularly rate, has hit a couple of good scores, while Clarke is just world class. The batting performances of the tail, for me, has optimised the difference between the sides. The English tail looks weak and easily dismantled, while the aussie tail have been resilient and tough to dismiss. 

In conclusion, England will definitely have some regrets after this series. I think the decision to leave out a genuine quick bowler, loose shots by batsman and some bad luck with Clarke winning every toss. However, Australia have been outstanding. Their batting solid, their bowling consistent. Johnson has blown away our team at times, I don't think he's a world class bowler by any means, but he's been good enough to make England crumble. Well played Australia, lets hope England regroup and bounce back in 2015.