England last night completed an impressive 4-0 series victory over old foes Australia after another rain affected match ended in victory for the home side.
Had England won the abandoned match earlier in the series at Edgbaston as well, they would now be sitting top of the ICC One Day International rankings, a remarkable feat considering their travails at the World Cup last year, where they were eliminated at the quarter final stage after some insipid displays.
As it is they sit third, and are starting to be talked about as a genuine contender for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand 2015. Here, the Golden Duck considers what’s changed for England recently to make them the formidable One Day side that has beaten Australia, West Indies and Pakistan in their last 3 series and whether they are in with a shot of World Cup success in three years’ time.
Captain Cook
Any successful cricket side needs a skipper at the helm with clear thinking and aggressive intent in the field, whilst also delivering in his own discipline of the game, be it with bat and ball. Cook is delivering on both fronts now, scoring another half century last night, the 12th for his country, and has developed a strong opening partnership with Ian Bell.
Not only that, but in the field Cook is growing in confidence, rotating his bowlers and giving them the fields they desire, as far as possible. A little conservative at times, Cook's England have now won 10 One Day Internationals on the spin, so he must be doing something right, although with a tough series against South Africa in England followed by a tour of India in the autumn to come, he will face sterner challenges.
You can only beat what's put in front of you though, and in the last three series Cook has done just that.
A Settled Batting Line Up
England have chopped and changed their batting line up at regular intervals in the past, with KP, Prior, Bell and Kieswetter all opening the batting in recent times.
They are now benefitting from some consistent batting selections, with Cook and Bell opening, Trott coming in at three to sure up things if required, and with Morgan at five England have the enforcer/match winner they've needed for so long. The stand out man this series however has been Ravi Bopara. Batting at four Rav has scored freely and finally looks to be showing signs that he belongs at this level. Cook's faith in his Essex colleague is obvious, and he will be pleased to see him finally fill his considerable potential.
England need to stick with this top five as much as possible, because consistent selection has been such a flaw in their ODI plans in the past.
A Wicket Keeper Down The Order
Ok here's a shock for you; not every wicket keeper is as good as Adam Gilchrist! For so long England have looked for the next version of the legendary Aussie, putting Prior, Kieswetter and Steven Davies in the side at the top of the order.
With an opening pair of Cook and Bell finally settled on, England have put Kieswetter down the order against Australia. He's barely had chance to shine as England have made light work of their antipodean visitors, but the balance of the side looks right with the Somerset man down there.
I’m still not convinced Kieswetter is the man for the job however, and there are plenty of challengers to the Somerset man’s position. Matt Prior is one, and okay so he had a rough World Cup last year, but he was moved from 6th to open following injury to Pietersen, before being demoted to seven a game later; hardly ideal for a man fighting for his future in the team. There is also Davies who is receiving a fair amount of support within the game for a call up, and of course there is also the explosive Yorkshire wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow to consider for the position too, so the gloves are not sown to Kieswetter yet.
A Five Man Bowling Attack
Mark Ealham, a veteran England ODI player with 64 caps, was known as a "dibby-dobber". He sent down some accurate, wobbly-seamed medium pacers and could nurdle and nudge a few singles, but was hardly your archetypal all-rounder. Still, for a while players like this made up the numbers in England’s ODI side.
The idea of having part-time bowlers seems to have been kicked to the curb by Cook and Flower, instead fancying a more specialist bowling unit. Against both the West Indies and Australia this summer England have employed 5 specialist bowlers, albeit in Bresnan, Broad and Swann they have 3 players that can more than hold their own with the bat.
With five bowlers keeping things tight for the full 50 overs, there is no respite from the accurate, probing lines and lengths that England have prided themselves on in all formats over the past 24 months. Both West Indies and Australia have struggled this summer and they will not be the only ones. England have strived to discover specialist limited overs bowlers in the past, but with what is essentially their test line up plus Steve Finn in situ now, they have struck on a winning formula that will stand them in good stead for 2015.
Extras?
Fielding is obviously a massive part of limited overs cricket and with the likes of Bopara and Morgan in the side, they have good fielding options. Having said that, there have been mistakes, with Patel and Anderson dropping clangers yesterday for example. There is a general feeling that the fielding in this series against Australia has not been as tight as it should have been and England will need to improve on this to challenge the best.
Momentum also plays a huge part in any sport. England have won 3 series on the spin now – a successful 3 year build-up to the World Cup would make them a firm favourite.
Wickets – a lot depends on the type of wicket you play on. England have struggled on sub-continent wickets in the past, losing 5-0 to India last autumn. With the World Cup being played on the quick, bouncy tracks of Australia and New Zealand, England will fancy their bowling attack to perform and their batsmen to cope with the challenge. However, if England are to be acknowledged as the best in the world, they are going to have to find a way to perform better on the dry, spinning tracks of Asia. With 5 places in the side now allocated to bowlers, England need to play 2 spinners at least out there, and ensure their batsmen are better prepared to deal with the slow turning wickets better than they were last year.
Conclusion:
England have made an encouraging start to One Day cricket under Alastair Cook, but there’s a long way to go. They have two tough series coming up and their visit to New Zealand next winter, not to mention the tour of Australia 6 months later, will show just how far this side has come.
