If some of the art of success in limited-limit cricket is peaking at the right time, England hasn’t timed its decline in results that badly.
There is never a good time to lose to Australia, of course. Especially considering that the result was 5-0 against England the last time they visited. But these are still the first stages of the new four-year cycle towards the next World Cup. If ever there was a time to experiment and learn, it is now. With the start of that tournament, in October 2023, the details of this series, fascinating as they are, will not be most people’s first frame of reference.
On that basis alone, it may be unwise to read too much about this defeat. After all, this is the first bilateral ODI series England has lost since January 2017 in India. The first they have lost in England since 2015, when Australia was the winner again. Her long-term track record remains excellent. And, in the end, they lost this match by a hairline to which Eoin Morgan admitted, quite accurately, seemed like “a better side”.
In many ways, England will be very animated by this series. Because if there is one quality that stood out, it was her ability to recover. In all three of these ODIs, and in the first T20I against the same opposition, there were times when it looked like they were going to be on the wrong side of a beating. Winning two of those matches and being close in the other two shows some self-confidence and struggles.
“The positive is that we can win when we don’t play our best games,” Morgan said afterward. “We’ve seen the guys show faith and fight. Australia has outplayed us, but sometimes when you do that [win easily] you take things for granted. But these contests have been so tight that we have learned a lot. “
It’s also worth remembering what Morgan said before the series. She said that she welcomed the prospect of playing on slower, lower surfaces, which helped turn around as they considered both an area of weakness and a likely scenario ahead of the tournament in India.
In that case, you will have learned a lot. And in some respects, England have a long way to go before they can be considered favorites to retain their title. Because if they’re really honest, they’ll accept that they were a little flattered by the loss margin in the first game, escaped from jail in the second, and saw a couple of family failures that came back to haunt them in the third.
“We’ve learned a lot about the group playing on slower terrain,” Morgan continued. “Having the opportunity to play with them for three games in a row is rare for us. It hasn’t gone well, but we have certainly addressed an area of our game that is the weakest. Now we have time to take advantage and work on it.”
What they need to improve the most, in all formats, is their field. Whether in T20I, Tests or ODI, there are too many chances to keep serious hopes of winning the biggest tournaments. Morgan suggested that his side missed the intensity created by a live audience, which is undoubtedly a factor. But it was telling that Australia seemed to be doing much better.
In this game there were two chances. The first, that Jofra Archer saw a Marcus Stoinis drive explode in his hands midway, was inexpensive. But second, Jos Buttler couldn’t hold on to a strong opportunity but by these standards, practically regulation offered by Glenn Maxwell versus Adil Rashid when he was 44, was possibly the turning point of the game.
England’s management maintains that they are working hard on the team field and that is certainly the case. But whatever they are doing is not working. It is an area that requires rethinking.
Could that include Buttler behind the stumps? Probably not. He is clearly an outstanding hitter in this format, despite a 4.00 series average, and he has performed decently with gloves in the white ball game. Just think of the World Cup final to know.
But it is not convincing when facing spinners. Not in any format. And with the World Cup to be played in India, it is an area that will require attention.
There may also be a vacancy in the spinning bowling department. The decision to leave Moeen Ali out on these surfaces was revealing. Under normal circumstances, you might have thought England would have even considered playing a third spinner on such pitches, but, with confidence in Moeen waning, they chose to pick just Rashid.
ALSO READ: Maxwell, Carey century seal exciting series win for Australia
It was also understandable. As of early July 2018, Moeen is averaging 16.20 with the bat at 27 ODI and has only taken 13 wickets at a cost of 86 apiece. His economy rate in that period, 5.75, is not that bad but, in comparison, Adil Rashid’s is 5.71 (and his average is 32.85) in the same period, Nathan Lyon’s is 5.01, while Mitchell Santner and Ravi Jadeja both grant 4.88 and more. Yes, Joe Root did very well at Emirates Old Trafford. But at a World Cup in India, England may want to consider him a third player at best.
Liam Plunkett has also been missed. If he fit in, it would have been awkward to face him on these surfaces, in particular, and at this stage England doesn’t seem any closer to replacing their medium over the wickets. It wasn’t necessarily wrong to leave him behind – he is now 35 and unlikely to remain a viable selection by the time this World Cup cycle comes to an end – but it was a reminder of how much he offered and the need to replace him. he.
Australia is the first away team to win a bilateral ODI series in England since Australia in 2015! #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/J9SJPyL5G4
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 16, 2020
Overall, this series was probably a helpful wake-up call. England don’t have a great recent record of restarting after achieving their goals. Consider the fate of the test side which, having reached No. 1 in the rankings in 2011, was beaten by Pakistan, South Africa (at home), Australia and Sri Lanka (at home) over the next several years.
Similarly, when they traveled to Australia in 2006-07, they remained married to the team that had achieved Ashes’ historic victory in 2005. Rather than refresh it with a younger player, they relied on a team that, in several cases, had been a long time. his best. Therefore, facing a strong and motivated Australian team here may have been just a reminder of the levels required to maintain success at this level. Defeat will burn.
Here’s a bigger problem, of course. The fact that we have been able to see a result, the fact that we have been offered tremendously entertaining cricket for the last two and a half months, must be considered a great success. Considering the position we were in a few months ago, the achievement of playing the entire international men’s calendar is remarkable. It will help keep the professional game head above water.
There are many to attribute this achievement to Steve Elworthy, the man who also led the World Cup, a primary candidate. But England also owes a lot to the West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia who, in some cases, have sent teams from regions where Covid-19 appeared to be less of a threat to help the ECB survive. This spirit should be remembered when making future decisions about global gaming finances.
The next few weeks will see debates about the need to cut the salary of the best players in England. And under the circumstances, it’s probably only fair that they share the pain. But you also have to remember that some of them have spent 90 days, with short breaks here and there, in an enormously limiting bio-bubble.
They decided a long time ago not to make any public complaint about this, but having been separated from their families, not being able to get off the ground, being trapped in the increasingly claustrophobic environment is something more demanding than what they have revealed. Whatever the outcome of this ODI series, they, and all the other teams that visited this summer, deserve a lot of credit for that.
.
