Slowly the dust will settle on the England 2011 World Cup campaign and then everyone will remember that actually, they’ve been rubbish at one-day cricket for pretty much 20 years now.
Not since getting to the final in 1992 have England really threatened as a side and had England got a stage further and made the semi-finals, it would have been deemed a fairly reasonable World Cup effort. Had they beaten Ireland and Bangladesh in the group stages, there would have been an easier looking quarter-final against New Zealand awaiting, but as ever, the finest of margins have proved to be the difference.
There are factors that meant that it was always going to be difficult for Strauss’ men to lift the trophy. Going into a World Cup after a draining tour in Australia (again) was a tough ask. England looked devoid of energy in the one-day games straight after the Ashes series Down Under, by the time the group stages were over, they were dead on their feet.
It would have also been an enormous ask for England to prevail on the subcontinent wickets. With only Graeme Swann to provide the real spin threat, the seam bowlers faced an uphill battle to get wickets at key moments. Jonathon Trott aside, the batsmen struggled and England once again found themselves wanting in the Powerplays. Gone also was the dynamic and athletic fielding seen so often in Australia only weeks previously.
A new captain
It seems inevitable that Andrew Strauss will now step down as captain (he will remain in charge of the test team) and this looks to be the right decision. At 34 Strauss certainly isn’t going to be around for the next World Cup and England have to start their planning for that tournament now.
Obvious frontrunners for the job are somewhat thin on the ground. There has been much championing of Alastair Cook for the role, yet I can’t seem to understand why. If anything, Cook playing in just the test side has allowed him to work on his game and stay fresh. Something that has cost England big in this tournament was the lack of a big hitting one-day specialist batsman and the inclusion of Cook in the starting line-up, is unlikely to change that.
Like Michael Vaughan I would be seriously tempted with the choice of Stuart Broad as skipper. He has a first-class cricket brain and it may just be worth having a bowler make the decisions for a change, it gives the captaincy a different perspective and that might just freshen up the side and ruffle some feathers amongst the batmen.
Thanks for the memories
Much like the captaincy, it’s time to make decisions that are based on a long-term plan. With that in mind, it’s time to say goodbye to some of the old guard. Strauss will go, as should Paul Collingwood. Michael Yardy and James Tredwell will also do well to feature again and despite his Ashes heroics, Chris Tremlett may find himself out of contention.
There has to be a case of now keeping some players exclusive to certain formats of the game. The likes of James Anderson, Matt Prior and Kevin Pieterson should now be kept fresh for the test side. Form alone should mean KP isn’t a regular ODI starter now. An average of 23 from his last 27 games means that Pieterson won’t be missed and he will be able to concentrate on being a force in the test arena again.
Anderson seems to have been particularly affected by fatigue post-Ashes and his bowling suffered in the World Cup, but with 228 test match wickets and a devastating series in Australia, he remains the lead bowler in the test match side. Matt Prior hasn’t done anything particularly wrong with the gloves but he certainly hasn’t got much right with the bat.
In with the new
Encouragingly, there is a decent under belly of talent waiting to be eased into the team. Somerset’s James Hildreth and Leicestershire’s James Taylor are two batsmen that would appear to be next in the rank; both are exquisite talents and should fit nicely into the top order batting line-up.
Craig Kieswetter deserves another chance with the gloves, it maybe that he drops down the order rather than opening, but his powerful hitting ability seems impossible to ignore. Steven Davies is also a contender for the position although he needs to find his vocal range in the field as much as anything.
Eventually there is going to have to be a decision on Ravi Bopara. Everyone that works with him lauds his talent, but he seems unable to deliver on the international stage. He needs to be given a run of games and the vote of confidence to apply his natural game; England would dearly love the Essex man to come good as he would seem the natural replacement for Collingwood.
Bowling wise, Adil Rashid could get a chance this summer and the Yorkshire spinner certainly deserves a go and like Chris Woakes he has the ability to contribute with both bat and ball.
Steve Finn will surely get another chance, although he will need to work on his economy rate. Clearly the selectors have seen something in Jade Dernbach. One to keep an eye out for is 19 year old Nathan Buck, the Leicestershire pace man is creating a name for himself and could well force himself into the reckoning sooner rather than later.
World Cup 2015
While not necessarily good for the fans trying to watch time-wise, the England players will enjoy the bouncier, seamer-friendly conditions in New Zealand and Australia. The pace of the wickets will also suit the batsmen.
Although there are teams such as Australia and New Zealand rebuilding, the next World Cup looks set-up beautifully for England to win, especially as the ECB have moved the Ashes schedule, meaning that England will go into the tournament without a preceding Ashes tournament. This will allow England to hopefully go one step further than the last time the World Cup was held Down Under. Anything less next time and England will find themselves back to the drawing board and wondering where it all went wrong. Again…