Unhappy endings

The tour of South Africa came to a crushing finish, the happy high of the test series disappearing as five straight defeats saw a 2-0 lead in the ODI series surrendered and both Twenty20 matches lost. After six straight Twenty20 wins, hopes had - albeit somewhat cautiously - started to rise ahead of the World Twenty20 in a few weeks time. Right now it feels like they have as much work to do as ever. Maybe it's their own way of managing expectations - a few reassuring collapses just so we don't get too far ahead of ourselves.

Of course, a great thing about Twenty20 is its unpredictability. Each World Cup has seen a different winner emerge at the end, and within the space of a few balls the match situation can feel drastically different. Batsmen can so suddenly find themselves on a hot streak, but wickets can fall quickly and then they're under pressure once again. And England can be just as unpredictable. They have players of immense talent and with pedigree in the format, and the six game streak shows how they can deliver - putting on big scores and coming through in pressure situations. But at the same time, there's always a collapse around the corner that can lose them the match. I can't predict their chances in India because I honestly don't know what to expect. But it will be tough.

Reece Topley will be hurting after the first match, but really it was the batsmen who let England down. There are always those tiny moments that have the final impact on the match - the last wicket to fall as a team desperately battles for a draw, the dropped catch, the missed run-out chance that was the case for Topley. But it was a great effort from the bowlers to get into the position where they should have won the match in the last over - Chris Jordan particularly impressing with figures of 3/23 from four. 15 runs were needed in the final over, but Chris Morris was there again - just like he had been in the ODI series. Two full tosses proved costly, dispatched for ten runs. Two were needed from the last delivery, and two were scored as Topley fumbled the throw from Root. It was a cruel way for things to end.

But it should have been better from England. They started strongly - 50 runs from the powerplay and 36 of those in the first three overs. But then they stuttered, and stuttered, and stuttered. Wickets fell in clusters, and batsmen couldn't get away. Buttler was left with a repairs job rather than being able to express himself in the way he can do so well. In the end, they might not have needed that many more, but a total of 134 never looked like being enough. The four wickets of Imran Tahir left a sense of foreboding ahead of a World Cup on the turning pitches of India.

It could have been different in the second match, too. There are few ways to stop AB de Villiers when he gets in the sort of mood he was in when South Africa went out to bat, but there must be ways to stop the kind of collapse that sees a team 171 all out after being 157/3. The scorecard makes horrible reading, progressing from the scores of Root (34 from 17), Morgan (38 from 23), and Buttler (54 from 28) onto something that looks more like a phone number: 1, 5, 1, 1, 2, 1. And then came de Villiers. 71 from 29 balls, six fours, six sixes, strike rate 244.82. Amla's 69* from 38 almost looks slow in comparison. The innings didn't last long, the total chased down within 15 overs with only one wicket to fall.

So once again, England are left with a lot to think about on the eve of a major tournament. It wouldn't be a major tournament otherwise. I don't want to get too pessimistic, because they're a talented bunch of players who have had success in the format over the past year - but it's also fair to say that results in South Africa have dampened expectations a fair bit. Part of it seems to be that they don't quite know their best eleven, or their best batting line-up. There are many all rounders there to work out the order for - David Willey comes in all the way down at number ten, for example. They haven't been able to play Steven Finn in the past few months due to injury, there's the question of James Vince or Jason Roy, and whether or not they want to play the third spinner once they reach India. England can be so full of surprises, good or bad, that it's hard to know what to expect. But it's usually worth watching to find out.

Here comes the World Cup

The World Cup is finally upon us! The first matches come tonight/today/tomorrow (delete as appropriate), the first games of a six-week long competition, concluding on 29th March. For all the ICC's attempts after the last tournament to 'slim down' the 2015 edition, the format has stayed the same as in 2011: fourteen teams - the ten full members and four associates. It's the last time out for this format before the new, 'streamlined' format for 2019: ten teams only, giving less chance for associate teams on the big stage. Personally, and like many others, I'm not a fan of such a change: even if the tournament is rather long, and associates don't have a great chance of winning the whole thing, why would you not want the sport's flagship tournament to help expand the game further and give a chance to some more teams? And associates have provided some fantastic moments in recent tournaments - the performances of Ireland, winning against teams like England and Pakistan, come straight to mind - as well as some of the great stories, like Afghanistan's first appearance at the Cup now in 2015. I'm no cricket administrator, but it just seems a shame to me.

But on to the present, and it's a tournament that looks close to call. South Africa to me look like the best team, particularly after that stunning century of AB De Villiers just a few weeks ago, but memories of previous tournaments would tell you otherwise. I'm not saying they'll choke again, but you never know what will happen to them once they're in the knockout stages. It's always something that you have to watch. The co-hosts, Australia and New Zealand, look to be the other immediate front runners for the tournament. New Zealand's knockout record may be largely similar to that of South Africa's, but they seem to have got away with it by having the underdog label at previous tournaments. Now though, they've found form at a good time and, with a good line up and a home advantage, should be well in the mix at the end.

Then there are the teams that you just don't know what to expect to happen. Pakistan always look like they could do anything; England always get my hopes up with one brilliant match, a few tense finishes, and then a middle order collapse for a total under 200; Sri Lanka and India certainly have the talent but not necessarily the form or the conditions. If they can get some form together, they should all be in with a chance. Drama looks to have doomed West Indies again and it didn't look good for them in the warm ups - a terrible batting display against England and a very close victory over Scotland - but even so, Chris Gayle always has the potential to destroy a team on any given day.

I don't want to get my hopes up too much over England, for they always have such a great potential to disappoint. But I have noticed a new sense of optimism in the past few weeks, even in the media. They didn't perform terribly in the tri-series beforehand, though they did have a pretty horrible defeat in the final. But they are improving. The batting lineup has been settled which is always a boost, the batsmen now having their roles and not the constant pressure that comes with being in and out of the team - though Bopara will be under a lot of pressure to get some runs in the opening group stages with Ballance waiting in the wings. Their strength though looks like the new ball bowling, something that should be helped by the conditions, and especially what they'll find in New Zealand. Two new balls is a bonus in this respect, meaning there should be swing for longer. They should be able to make it past the group stages at least, then who knows what could happen in the knockout rounds. Or they could be knocked out in their last group match against Afghanistan, they're that kind of team. I'll stay optimistic.

Really, we are just entering a prelude. There are 42 matches before the knockouts begin, a month of cricket ahead, which - whilst by no means unimportant - makes it easy to see why casual observers and even cricket fans would see the whole thing as rather bloated. It's a constant battle for the best format that will go on for a long time. And in any case it's going to be tough to watch as much as I want to anyway, the battle against timezones being the eternal struggle of any cricket fan. But I'll do my best. I'll stay in it for the long haul, because there should be an interesting tournament along the way.

Signs of Promise

The tri-series is drawing to a close, even if I'm still yet to write about it. I'll blame the classic Australian timezone problem, even if that doesn't bode well for me following the World Cup either. I'll do my best. As ever, the series has been a mixed bag for England - two wins against India, two losses against the hosts Australia - but they are now looking as prepared as they'll ever be for this World Cup. So here's a look at how things have been going for England in the new year.

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For starters, they've been doing much better with the ball in their hands. It helps to have players such as Anderson and Broad back in the team (though Broad has struggled to find his form so far, only picking up wickets in England's fourth match of the series), and it has meant they've finally been able to settle on their best bowling attack. They've found a solid new ball pairing of Anderson and Woakes, Anderson of course always being an asset to the side, and Woakes being a player who seems to have the knack of picking up wickets in this format. Moeen Ali, whilst not scoring the runs he would have hoped for so far in this series, has given the team a better balance and really can be seen as a genuine all rounder - providing a wicket threat, more than just holding up an end with the ball. But it's been Finn that's been the most impressive. Almost a year to the day after being sent home from England's Ashes tour, having become 'unselectable' in the eyes of the staff, Finn picked up his first ODI five wicket haul and was the key man in bowling India out for just 153 (four wickets from Anderson on his return to the side doing their fair bit too). Finding pitches far better suited to him and the rest of the pace attack has certainly helped as well, and especially when playing against India rather than Australia - India being bowled out for totals of 153 and 200 whilst Australia comfortably chased their targets of 235 and 304. But there are certainly positive signs here for England, and a fully firing Finn bodes well further into the future, too.

Batting wise, the series has seen its ups and downs for England. The first match saw them bowled out for 234 by Australia, and even then they were rescued by a timely return to form with the bat for Morgan. After a disastrous start, with England 2 wickets down after 3 balls, Morgan scored 121, the next highest score being 28 from Buttler, forced to play an uncharacteristic innings. From then on things were better, with Ian Bell making scores of 88* and 141 after returning to the team at the top of the order; Taylor continuing to settle at number three with innings of 56* and 82; Root and Buttler both making fifties. The problem is that they're not all scoring runs at the same time, and whilst batsmen have made runs, it has been a bit all or nothing. Morgan's century accounted for 121 runs out of 123 for his three innings; Root's 69 out of 77 across three innings. And even if they made 300 in the second match against Australia, after being two wickets down with ten overs left, their total should really have been a lot better, enough for them to win the match. Bopara hasn't found the runs either, and as much as I have defended him in the past, if his poor run of form continues in the World Cup then there's only so long he can stay in the side. It's not all doom and gloom, but there is still room for improvement.

But even if the results have been mixed, from what I've seen the change of captain has worked. I just think Morgan's better suited to captaining this format than Cook ever was, and even if the timing of the change wasn't ideal, it's still better late than never. It wasn't all positive of course, the second match against Australia being the obvious moment where advantages were let slip, but in general he does seem more proactive in the field - and it can't hurt that there's less media scrutiny over the captain's every move now, blackmail plots notwithstanding.

The last match saw England and India in what was effectively a semi-final, and England came through. After previous performances, they would have been favourites to win the match anyway, but this was England and they never like to make things simple. A good bowling show saw India all out for 200, and England duly fall to 66/5 in response. It's the kind of situation that England have got themselves into all too often in the past, and a situation where they can easily crumble. But a partnership shared by Taylor and Buttler saw them through, despite a slight stumble at the very end. Though too much shouldn't be read into the whole thing, it was good to see two younger members of the team pull England through in a situation they will likely face at some point during the World Cup. A promising moment, at least, even if I'd much rather they hadn't been in a situation like that in the first place. Now England find themselves with a final to play.

So what have we learnt so far in this series? Probably not all that much - it was to be expected that England would perform better on Australian surfaces as opposed to those they played on in Sri Lanka; and it still looks like they always have potential to pull of a very good display or implode on any given day. But with a stronger and settled bowling attack, the potential for a good win must be slightly higher than it was before. I'm going to rate myself as cautiously optimistic now ahead of the World Cup. Whilst I still don't think they win it, they have the chance of causing the odd upset along the way, and who knows how well they might do if they really find their feet. Or they could just as easily crash out in the first round. It's worth a watch, at least.

The Rise and Fall of Ben Stokes

At the start of the year, it seemed like the only way was up for Ben Stokes. England's Ashes tour had been an absolute disaster and the team was crumbling further every day, but Stokes had at least managed to come away with credit - scoring England's only century of the series and managing a five wicket haul in the final match of the series. Seeing a genuine all rounder, many were already making the comparisons with Andrew Flintoff, even with Ian Botham. For a side with a daunting rebuilding process ahead of them, Stokes seemed to have put his name down as a big part of the future.

And then he punched a locker. Some were sympathetic, seeing the frustration as a result of such a workload and expectations suddenly being placed on a young lad. Others were less so, seeing it as part of a greater disciplinary problem after being sent home from a Lions tour the previous year. As ever with English all rounders, it looked like the talent was there but so was the baggage to go along with it. Either way, it put him out of England's World Twenty20 campaign and in a battle to find his fitness for the first test of the summer - ultimately being deemed to not have played enough first class cricket beforehand and missing out. And in many ways, it saw him get left behind. The number six spot all rounders make their home went to Moeen Ali, securing his place with a century that so nearly saved England's series. His return to the side saw him batting at number eight, but by then it looked too high. He didn't bowl badly - and if he was batting at eight, really he was in the side for his bowling - but batting wise, his form was starting to resemble a telephone number: 0, 0, 0. A terribly misjudged shot in England's disaster at Lord's and he was gone again - whether it was a drop or a 'rest', the bubble had burst.

For a year that promised so much, it's been such a shame that it just hasn't got going for Stokes. Part of the problem is the lack of consistency with selection, Stokes not really being given a clear, well defined role at any point. In tests he's gone from having the clear position as an all rounder at six to batting number eight, a place between being an all rounder and a bowler. In ODIs he's gone up and down the order - making his way up to number three around the start of the year before falling back to number seven or eight. His performances has gone up and down just as much; he's only played 24 matches so far but as yet there have only been glimpses of the promise we know is there - the odd innings with the bat, the odd show with the ball, but not yet consistent. Sometimes you just have to make the best of what you're given, and really he hasn't seized the opportunities he's had. And in Sri Lanka it just all went wrong, and he lost the captain's trust with the ball in his hand and couldn't make a mark with the bat. For all that excitement as the year begun, it appears that now is just not yet the time for Stokes.

He will of course come back, and I really hope we can see some of those big performances he put in for Durham in the back end of the season replicated on the international stage - his century in the semi-final of the 50 over competition was something special indeed. For now though, with the World Cup imminent, the performances were just not good enough. With the fit again Broad and Anderson both coming back, something had to give, and it was Stokes. While Woakes and Jordan put their names forward, Stokes couldn't take the chance he was given. Hopefully he will take the next.

Extra thoughts on the squad:

• Naturally I'm very happy to see Gary Ballance return to the squad; obviously I'm hopelessly biased as a Yorkshire supporter and just a massive fan of his, but his one day record is brilliant and I think he can do a good job.
• As a whole I have few complaints with the squad, but the general lack of experience does say a lot about England in the past year or so - simply searching for their best team. Overall there's a decent mix with a few who have been on the scene for a while, but we shouldn't pin too much pressure on a bunch of players who've barely played 100 matches between them.
• Still there is the core of a promising team there, and they could cause a few upsets on a good day. Plus, if enough of them stay together for a home World Cup in 2019 then we might have a good chance...or as ever we could be in the same position.

Where do we go from here?

Another ODI series has been and gone, and now England are left with just one more series to finally find their feet before the World Cup begins. I must say, the seven matches in Sri Lanka did go better than expected (honestly I wasn't entirely expecting them to keep it alive for six games, as bad as that may sound), but as ever there were times where it felt like one step forwards, two steps back.

Let's start with the good points, because despite the 5-2 series scoreline, they were there. England did put in some good performances: despite losing the first match, they put up a good fight and fell only 25 runs short; there were impressive run chases in the rain affected third and fifth games - the fifth also seeing what was probably their best bowling performance of the series. And batting wise, there were certainly a few players who put themselves forwards. Moeen Ali, although fading as the series went on, had some good performances in his new role as opener - his century in the first match being especially memorable and just so enjoyable to watch. He didn't perform with the bat so well in the later games, but his attacking attitude certainly impressed and he was also one of the team's most economical with the ball in hand. James Taylor was finally given a chance in the side and instantly showed why with innings of 90 and 68 in his first two matches (and suddenly the talk changed from him being too short to play international cricket to 'why are short batsmen so successful?'). Joe Root cemented his position further, finishing as England's leading scorer and proving an important cog in the middle order. I also thought Bopara did a decent job, though once again he found himself out of the side by the last match - forever seen as a useful player, never quite finding the luck to make himself essential.

But even so, the problems are still there in the batting. Morgan's form continues to be a concern, though interestingly 62 of his 90 runs across the seven match series came in his one innings as captain. Cook's woes with the bat continued, Bell disappeared from the side, Hales couldn't make an impact in his very limited chances. The collapses in the middle overs against spin continued. And though there were some good run chases, there were also totals of 202 and 215 in response to targets of around 300 to go with a first innings score of 185 in the second match of the series. As ever, when they fired, they looked very good - but you could never knew when they would fire or when they would crumble away.

Bowling wise, there were probably more downs than ups. Woakes and Jordan were probably the picks of the bunch; Stokes went backwards with 8 overs disappearing for 85 runs; Gurney wasn't quite the left-armer England are desperate to find;  Finn wasn't at his worst, but still wasn't at his best. Tredwell's place can be doubted now too - though he has been pretty solid whenever he's played, he's less likely to be needed with Ali (and a few overs from Root) in the team and there being less need for spin in Australia. Wides were a problem throughout, simply gifting too many free runs to Sri Lanka. And it was at the death when they often really struggled - even when they got themselves in a good position, those last 5/10/15 overs could often see that final score get away from them. Hopefully with Broad and Anderson back, with their added experience and nous, this will improve. Or maybe it is just a reflection of the game as it is - teams are geared towards a final assault at this point in the innings, encouraged with a powerplay to use as a platform. But you'd still think short and wide isn't the best way to bowl at that stage. It was just frustrating to see decent positions let slip too often.

As I've been writing, Cook has been replaced by Morgan as captain. It's a good move - Cook can focus on the longer format and (hopefully) get back to his best in what will be a massive 18 months or so for England in test matches. And hopefully Morgan can get back to his best too - maybe the added responsibility can be a spark for him as it has hinted to be. But the confusion is still clear to see. With just a series to go, England are still trying to find their best side, have a squad filled with many still trying to prove their worth at this level and lacking in experience. There may be the odd signs of progress, but there is still a long way to go and it feels like the World Cup is just coming too soon. England are still trying to find their winning formula.

Another ODI Rant

The first three ODIs have been a mixed bag for England: a respectable performance in the first, where a middle order collapse saw a 25-run loss; a shocker in the second, mustering only 185 runs; overcoming another collapse to win in a rain-affected third game. There have been some very good individual performances along the way - Moeen Ali's innings as opener have been especially impressive - and the ingredients of a decent ODI team are definitely there to see. But once again, it feels like with every match a new set of questions can be raised about their competitiveness.

And it always seems to come back to Alastair Cook. I know I probably sound like a broken record, questioning his place in the side again and again and again, but I just don't see him as one of the best one day players in the country and so deserving of a place in the side. He is without a doubt a brilliant test player, probably one of the best England have ever produced - certainly in terms of the stats - and though I was calling for his head earlier in the year, his captaincy is coming along in that format. I would call myself a fan, but there's always a but. I don't think he has the right mentality for the modern ODI game, in batting or captaincy, and it's been highlighted by watching Moeen Ali's sparkling performances as his opening partner at the other end. I'd much rather see an opening pair of Ali and Hales, rather than Hales coming in at number three as he did in the most recent game. Leave Cook to the test side, let him focus on the longest format; without the pressure of leading the ODI side as well his form could well and truly come back and fully flourish there as it has before. The next match, with Cook banned for a slow over rate, will be an interesting one to see: Morgan will be leading the side, James Taylor could even get a chance in the team, and Ali and Hales will in all probability be the openers. It's a brilliant opportunity for both of them, but most of all Hales: if they can put on an impressive opening stand, it will create quite the headache for the selectors and the shouts for Cook to go will grow ever louder.

Form in general seems to be an issue. Morgan will be captain for the next match, but his innings so far this series have been very brief: 1, 17, 1. He is a proven performer and a match winner for England in the both the limited overs formats, but he really hasn't been at his best over the past year or two, and it is starting to be a big concern. When he's at his best, he can score runs all around the ground, hit the ball in places you don't expect - just be a very difficult man to set a field to. But at the moment with the bat he's not adding much to the team. Maybe the added responsibility of being captain for a game will give him the boost he needs - it certainly seemed to help during the Twenty20 against India at the end of the summer. And hopefully he will find those runs very soon, because with an on form Morgan England would already look much for threatening. Ben Stokes is another whose form has been especially frustrating. We've seen in domestic one day competitions how dangerous a player is, and hints of it internationally, but in this series his form has looked a long way off. He's been expensive with the ball and has so only bowled six overs across the two matches he's played, and being in and out of the side can't have helped either - dropped the second game, he returned for the third though how he would have had time to find form in between, I don't know. I wrote at the start of the series about how with Broad and Anderson both missing, there was a big opportunity for the fast bowlers to step up, but so far none have really put themselves far ahead. Wides have been a problem, and often the bowling simply hasn't been good enough. Woakes and Finn are probably slightly ahead but even so there is still a lot of room for improvement.

I know I'm repeating myself, constantly ranting about England's one day team, but it's only because I believe that they can be so much better, and that there is the basis for a good, effective team there. Moeen Ali has been a star at the top of the order, his century in the first game being one of the best ODI innings I can remember seeing by an England batsman. Bopara's come back into the side and done well, if not quite getting England over the line in that first match - though he wasn't helped by the players around him. Both also give England extra options with the ball. Root and Buttler have also done a good job, especially taking the team over the line in the third game. Even with my complaints about Cook, he too batted well in the last game. There is a promising young core of the side there, that should only get better with more maturity and experience. Generally it is a team that always has a chance of winning, it's just that they seem to have a greater chance of self-imploding. Hopefully it can turn the other way around.

The Winter Begins

The England team is back in action once more, and so my blog will be springing back into life again too. It's a big winter for all teams on the ODI front with the World Cup coming up in February, and about three months out it still looks like England have a lot of work to do. It's one of the many frustrations with following the England team: it feels very rare that they head into an international tournament looking well prepared and in with a shot at victory. The scheduling has been a problem in the past; one of the reasons why we faced an Ashes double header last year being to give us a better shot in World Cups - though instead England are beginning the winter tours still unsure of their best eleven. It's hard to be optimistic about their chances.

For a World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Sri Lanka isn't really the ideal place to tour in preparation. The best eleven for these conditions won't be the best eleven for later in the winter, but still it offers a chance for several players on the fringe to show why they deserve a place in the side. In bowling there is a particular opportunity for players to come through and shine - even though the extra spinner will be played, with the attack leaders of Stuart Broad and James Anderson missing from this tour players like Finn, Woakes, Jordan, Stokes, and Gurney will be wanting to seize the chance such an opening has provided. I've said it before on this blog how much I rate Finn as a bowler and I will say it again - he's the sort of bowler that can always offer a threat, and especially on Australian pitches likely to suit his style. With Woakes and Stokes it's the battle for the all-rounder spot, Stokes possibly having the edge batting-wise. As a player, Woakes has grown on me over the summer, but Stokes seems to be one of those players with an 'X factor', that something about him that could make him a match-winner. 

The batting though looks like the key area England need to improve on - in the series against India it was found lacking again and again. While other teams look capable of making and chasing scores of 300 plus with ease, it's an area where England have been found wanting. There's that mindset - 'If I bat 50 overs, I will score a hundred' where now it has to be upwards of 150 at least - Rohit Sharma's just made it all the way to 264, more than England usually seem to score in their whole innings. Cook won't be replaced now before the World Cup, but it's good to see players like Alex Hales and James Taylor in the squad, Taylor particularly after such strong performances in the 50 over format towards the end of the season. Some will say he is too short to succeed at international level, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be given a chance (and being rather vertically challenged myself, I will always back the short ones). Moeen Ali opened ahead of Hales in the first warm-up match and got England off to a flyer, just the sort of attacking attitude that England need. I'd rather that than all three of Cook, Bell, and Root - even if I am generally a fan of all three, I'm just not sure if the team can accommodate the lot of them.

I do desperately want to be proved wrong in my World Cup prediction, because, after all, it's no fun seeing them lose. I think that somewhere in there are the ingredients for a good team - it's just a matter of it all coming together. Mostly, I think it's a matter of mentality - not playing with the fear and conservatism that they too often do. For the most part, England have it in the lower order - players like Morgan and Buttler able to come in and turn innings around when they pull it off. But it shouldn't all be left up to them. It's higher in the order where they've stalled too often, and players like Hales, Ali, and Taylor could be a big help here - if only they're given the chance. England won't win the World Cup, and will probably follow their usual pattern of just narrowly qualifying for the knockout rounds before being easily beaten in the quarter finals. But I'd like to at least see some progress, using the coming series as a chance to gain some momentum and some signs to give me at least a bit of hope.