Enter England captain Josh Butler after Naveen-ul-Haq scored him nine in the shock defeat to Afghanistan. Photo: AP/Manish Swarup
England will be eliminated from the Cricket World Cup on Saturday if they lose to South Africa in Mumbai. Perhaps this situation suits them. They know what they need to do and will put aside the timidity with the bat that for some reason has confused their thinking in this World Cup.
Let's be honest: South Africa has looked formidable so far. They have a quality squad and lack confidence in England's attack. The pitch in Mumbai is a pitch where the ball can fly in all directions. England will have to come out and play extremely aggressively with the bat. This can either go very well or very badly. Lose on Saturday and they're out of the competition. It's that simple.
They just need to get that aggressive mentality and if they win on Saturday you will see England put in a really good performance because they will get such a lift from beating a decent team. But for this they need speed in attack. Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood are essential in Mumbai. They need to bring in Ben Stokes. It would be surprising if someone who looked half decent against Afghanistan, Harry Brooke, was not included in Stokes' squad. I always say that in competitions you stick with those who feel confident, especially after a loss. You shouldn't give up on one player who looked good.
Stokes may simply replace Chris Woakes and Atkinson replace Sam Curran. It contains a variety of strikes that allow England to remain ultra-aggressive for longer. You just need Joe Root and Liam Livingstone to fill a few overs and it's a risky game in Mumbai where you know one or two bowlers might be hiding. However, England has no choice. They need Stokes' presence and Atkinson's pace.
I was struck by how England lacked intent. We are used to seeing them run towards danger by taking the aggressive option in 50-overs cricket. They are usually fearless with the bat. Their mantra was to hit boundaries with any bowler on any pitch.
Harry Brooke became England's top run-scorer with with a score of 66. and was the only player on the team to retain any credit for the defeat to Afghanistan. Photo: Reuters/Andrew Boyers
But I didn't see that from the England team at the World Cup. They are like the old days where as soon as the ball gets stuck or spins they play smarter. They were timid about Afghanistan. I'd rather see them caught at the border than push them. Look how Livingston came out, just crossed the line. I'd rather he was caught trying to do it. The same Brook, caught from behind. I'd rather see him reverse and hit the back end – just shows more intent.
For England to be in this World Cup, the damage has to take a hit because their bowling on these wickets is not good enough. If the ball is going around, there are three or four other teams who have more speed than England. If it spins, then I don't have England in the top three spin attack in the competition, so the only way to get back to the World Cup is to score above par and dominate with the bat, putting the opposition bowlers below par. enormous pressure. This will also give their bowlers more options to play.
Woakes and Curran are outstanding cricketers, but they pose no threat to the opposition. England would be foolish not to take action. Sometimes you have to understand that not many bowlers can be exceptional in all conditions. There are not many of them. One or both of these two will have to miss. I think England need more pace at the top and fight fire with fire, so I'd throw the new ball to Atkinson and ask him to do some damage.
England have an excellent set of white-ball players, but they look inadequate against the competition of India and South Africa. New Zealand are a well-oiled, disciplined team with plenty of IPL experience.
Look at this England team. Jonny Bairstow did well in the IPL, but that was only recently. Dawid Malan is not playing in the IPL, Joe Root has played a few matches for Rajasthan, Brook has not played for Sunrisers. Jos Buttler is an outstanding player in the IPL but he opens the batting for Rajasthan whereas he is batting at number 5 in 50-over cricket which is a different role. Stokes hasn't played in the IPL this year, Livingstone has done a decent job at times in the IPL but nothing more. Curran has been very good at times but we don't have many great players in the IPL except Buttler and he is doing a different job in England.
Most other teams can boast players filling the same roles in 50-over cricket in this tournament as in the IPL.
One thing that is nonsense is talking that England should have played more than 50 cricketers for their counties. They did not play any domestic cricket with over 50 overs in 2019. No player in the entire world plays cricket with more than 50 overs. It was in these conditions that England lacked the courage to bat.
They're trying, I don't doubt their efforts, but sometimes you go to parts of the world where you don't have the skills to compete, and if that doesn't change on Saturday, they will. be out of it.
Recent Comments