What is England’s best XI? Bat first or bowl? As World Cup dream fades amid bad calls and confused messages… they’re making it up as they go along
- England have used all 15 squad members, and changed their balance each time
- Started World Cup with four all-rounders but switched tack against South Africa
- Captain Jos Buttler made the same mistake against Afghanistan and South Africa
After only four games, England’s World Cup defence is in pieces, following a record loss against South Africa on Saturday.
But where has it gone wrong?
Mail Sport examines the anatomy of a shambles…
England captain Jos Buttler made the same mistake against Afghanistan and South Africa
Captain’s bad calls
It was one thing for Jos Buttler to bowl first against Afghanistan in Delhi, where he placed all his chips on the dew that never arrived. It was another to repeat the mistake against South Africa in Mumbai, where the heat and humidity meant England fielded in the worst of the conditions.
By the time they emerged to chase 400, they were exhausted. When head coach Matthew Mott admitted ‘if we had our time again, it would probably look a bit different’, it was as close as an international sports team comes to saying: we messed up.
An all-round disaster
England started the tournament against New Zealand with four all-rounders — Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes. Against South Africa four had become none, and England went with specialists: their best six batsmen followed by their five most attacking bowlers. The volte-face reeks of indecision.
The early finger injury to Reece Topley played havoc, obliging Joe Root to send down milkable overs of off-spin to Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen. Meanwhile, David Willey, who had batted as high as No7 only once in 67 previous ODIs, was at the crease inside 12 overs.
As Mott put it: ‘When you lose a few in the powerplay, it certainly doesn’t look like a great decision. The balance of that team was a little bit out.’
England have now used all 15 squad members, and changed their balance each time. The uncertainty is starting to puzzle the players.
England played four all-rounders against New Zealand but switched tack in South Africa clash
Data over common sense
Mott claimed after the game that ‘the numbers around chasing were quite strong in this ground’. What numbers? Since the 2011 World Cup final, this was only the fifth ODI at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium — a sample size that merits little scrutiny. England have now lost seven of their last eight ODIs when chasing.
It’s possible Buttler and the management were seduced by statistics derived from the IPL. But Mott sounded worryingly like Peter Moores, who also liked his data and lost his job after the 2015 World Cup fiasco.
Once England felt the warmth and stickiness of the Mumbai afternoon, the stats should have been hurled out of the dressing-room window.
Guessing, not planning
Asked if England’s deprioritisation of 50-over cricket since 2019 had left him at a disadvantage, Mott said: ‘I would love us to play a bit more cricket. When you are trying to get your combinations and confidence, the more you play together is going to help.’
And while he made diplomatic noises about the pressure administrators face to cram in three formats — four, if you count the Hundred — he also made an alarming admission: ‘We knew coming into this tournament we were guessing a little bit, in terms of being able to compare players.’
England’s preparations for winning the 2019 World Cup were four years in the making. This time they are making it up as they go along — and it shows.
Confused messages
The week-long build-up to the South Africa game provided an insight into England’s lack of clarity.
Mott said they had lost confidence. Ben Stokes said they had to rediscover their attacking instincts, the day after Jonny Bairstow had suggested it wasn’t all about going hard in the powerplay. And Buttler stressed the need to attack, which once came as second nature to England but has been lost along the way.
England’s overthinking has been reflected by the selectorial chopping and changing, as if different venues call for different approaches. They have gone away from what they do best and are paying the price.
England have now used all 15 squad members, and changed their balance each time
So, what now?
England have been unlucky with injuries. Jason Roy could not resurrect his opening partnership with Bairstow and Stokes has been a passenger, missing the first three games with a hip injury. The loss of Topley, their best bowler, for the rest of the tournament is an excruciating blow.
But they have already reached the stage where Mott is talking about ‘looking each other in the eye’ and ‘dusting ourselves off’. He said: ‘I still think we can win this tournament but it needs to turn round pretty quickly.’
As they head for Bangalore to take on Sri Lanka on Thursday, hope is elbowing out expectation.
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