England’s recent ODI record in Australia leaves little room for optimism but a new team, encouraged to play with freedom, is desperate to perform well on the biggest stage of all
George Dobell in Melbourne12-Feb-20151:08
Shouldn’t strive for a formula that isn’t ours – Morgan
In an era when so much cricket of so little consequence is played, it is significant fixtures like this – Australia and England on the opening day of the World Cup – that separate the sheep from the goats.This is the sort of match that every one of these cricketers will have dreamed of playing in as a boy. It is the sort of match they will have acted out in childhood games with siblings and parents and friends. It is the sort of game that can define careers.To read the local media and listen to the local radio, you would think England are being thrown to the lions on Valentine’s Day. They are seen in these parts, like the villains in wrestling, as tools to be bullied and abused. It’s not whether they lose; it’s how much fun it can be beating them up in the process.You can understand why. England’s recent record here is so ugly – they have lost 13 of the last 15 ODIs here against Australia – that it should be kept away from the old, the ill, the pregnant and those with heart conditions. It provides little room for optimism.But they are a bit better than that. This new England – an England largely unscarred by the massacre of the last Ashes tour here – has been encouraged to play with fearlessness, with freedom and with joy. They have been encouraged to savour this country, to revel in the experience and cherish the moment. They are not dreading this match; they are desperate to perform on the biggest stage of all.That so little is expected of them – adverts around the city show two cricket balls with the slogan ‘Missing: a pair of balls. If seen please return to the England team’ – might well be an advantage. The crowd at the MCG – expected to be around 90,000 – will be hostile to England – unbelievably hostile by the standards of cricket crowds in the UK – but also expectant – demanding, even – of Australia. All the pressure is on the hosts. And the absence of James Faulkner, who has twice in recent games thrashed England’s bowlers around at the death, is probably just as significant as the absence of Michael Clarke.And even here, the result is not all-important. Such is the nature of the qualifying stages of this competition that England do not so much find themselves in the clichéd “group of death,” so much as they find themselves in the group of everlasting life. England can lose both their opening games and still progress to the quarter-finals. Whether their confidence can take such reverses, however, is another thing entirely.They have, at least, a settled side. Over the last few weeks, a familiar XI has evolved with a regular batting order and something of a formula to govern who bowls when. They have become, in a good sense, quite predictable.The one area of debate concerns the selection of Ravi Bopara. His twin roles are to provide cover in the bowling and to fulfil the role of finisher with the bat, but he is struggling to deliver in either department. He has taken one wicket in his last 15 ODIs and bowled only six overs in his last seven. Such figures do not suggest that his bowling is a major factor. Joe Root could, at a push, cover that amount of overs.Bopara v Ballance
Ravi Bopara
Age: 29
ODIs: 119
Average: 30.62
In Australia/NZ: 16.36
Over eight years in England’s one-day side, Bopara has been shifted around more often than an unloved sitting-room ornament. He has batted everywhere from No. 1 to No. 8, while bob-a-jobbing as the fifth or sixth bowler (he has 38 wickets at 39.26). Currently back in the “finisher” role he occupies uneasily, his form is again being closely scrutinised, just a few months after he was dropped for the India series.
Since January 2014 he has averaged 23.95 with three fifties, only bowling more than five overs on three occasions; if England are not going to use Bopara as an allrounder, then they could almost certainly employ a more productive batsman at No. 6. Neither is a top score of 33 from 12 innings in Australasia encouraging. It was at the 2007 World Cup, against Sri Lanka, that Bopara first came agonisingly close for England, a valiant half-century in defeat setting the template in only his fifth appearance. More than 100 ODIs on, it does not feel like much has changed.
Gary Ballance
Age: 25
ODIs: 12
Average: 26.10
In Australia/NZ: 33.00
England’s coming Yorkshireman (via Zimbabwe) and the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year, Ballance slipped back into the one-day squad after Alastair Cook lost the captaincy but then suffered a broken finger while batting in the nets ahead of the tri-series with Australia and India. Asked to bat at No. 3 in the Test side last year, Ballance promptly set about hoarding more than 700 runs at an average of 70.40 and many feel he has the range in his game to do a similar job in ODIs – a List A career average of 51.68 does not leave many looking down on him.
A half-century in his first innings in since September, albeit in defeat to Pakistan, has once again raised the prospect of England trying to get him in the XI, most likely at the expense of Bopara, with James Taylor dropping down the order. But with Taylor having made a decent start to life at No. 3 and England keen for stability, the World Cup might have to wait for Ballance.
– Alan Gardner
Which means Bopara is being selected as a batsman. But with no scores over 33 in his last eight ODI innings and a top score of 65 against Full Member nations (he did score a century against Ireland) dating back to July 2012, he is struggling to justify the continuing faith in him. He is the Stansted of limited-overs finishes: he promises London, but delivers you 30 miles short.Gary Ballance, meanwhile, continues to impress. It was not just that he scored a half-century in the match against Pakistan. It was that he had the maturity and confidence to reason that the surface was not conducive to stroke play and concluded that a par score was closer to 250 than 300. He also held on to two tough catches that he made appear far more straightforward than they were in reality.He may have to wait a little longer for his chance, but Ballance is pushing Bopara hard for his place.The only other issues of concern is the form of the captain, Eoin Morgan. While England may find it convenient to interpret his recent form – two runs in his last four innings, five dismissals in his last 19 balls and one score above five in his last seven ODIs – as a blip, there is worrying evidence of a longer-term issue.Yes, he scored an impressive century against Australia only four ODI innings ago. But he has passed 40 only twice in 23 ODI innings – all of which ended in dismissal – dating back to January 2014. Nobody doubts his potential or his work-ethic, but England will require far more consistent returns from their No. 5 if they are going to threaten in this tournament.Morgan played down his form issues ahead of the game – of course he did – but there just a little uncharacteristic irritation in his replies that might suggest some tension. Asked to explain the shot that led to his dismissal in the warm-up game against Pakistan he replied: “I played a shot that I’ve played thousands of times and usually results in the ball going on the legside, but it caught the top-edge and went to slip.”I’m not really that concerned. I’ve had a couple of low scores, but it’s only four or five games since I scored a hundred. I don’t have to look back very far to reconnect what works for me. That was against Australia and this first game is against Australia, so I’ll take a lot of confidence from that.”I find it really easy to reconnect with the past and what I do well when the chips are down. I’ve done that in the past when I’ve had low scores and I’ve come out the other side.”He may find the pitch at the MCG more suited to his style. While England’s warm-up matches were played on a slightly two-paced seamer, this track is likely to be hard, true and offer a bit more pace. It will probably encourage quick bowlers, but it should also encourage batsmen who like the ball coming on to the bat.Most of all, though, Morgan reiterated the message that he wanted his players to perform in the dynamic manner that gained their selection in the first place. He wants them to play as they did in those matches when they were kids. He wants them not to defend and defy, but destroy.”The vibe around the camp is free-spirited and that suits the players,” he said. “It will allow them to go and play in the manner that got them selected.”The change in mentality that we’ve established [in the squad] – and it comes from the personnel involved, as well – is that it comes naturally for guys to play in that [aggressive] manner.”It’s important we focus on what we do best. In the past we’ve strived for a formula that isn’t ours. We’ve learned to adapt with what we do well, rather than what other people do.”Ian Bell is in great form; Moeen Ali scores at more than a run a ball; Joe Root and James Taylor are in form; I’ve had a score… I could run through the whole team. Jimmy Anderson is swinging it both ways and Stuart Broad’s aggression is key. Steve Finn and Chris Woakes have supported well and our fielding has come together.”It’s just about putting it all together and going and expressing ourselves. It’s about reinforcing what works and producing our skill on the day. We’re not worn down, we’re not intimidated. Our time will come.”The time for talking is almost over. Now we’ll see how much progress England have made.