karan316
State Vice-Captain
England's poor show in the WC is not something that has surprised a lot of people. But what is the reason for their failure? and what next? From what I have seen, they do have the resources, but they aren’t getting the combination right. They do have players who can win games and a few tweaks can give better results.
Firstly, I don't feel Moeen should be used as an opener. He can score at a brisk pace, but because of his shot selection, there is a chance of him throwing it away quite often against the two new balls. At the same time he is also a touch player who can be good at strike rotation and can make better use of the second powerplay. In T20s its fine, but I don't think in a team like England, you would want to expose a match winner like Moeen against the two new balls. He can be more profitable at number 4.
I think if England wants an aggressive opener, Lumb and Hales are worth taking risk with. I would go with Lumb because Hales still looks like a WIP player at the moment.
Morgan looks so confused each time he comes in to bat early. Its clearly visible that he lacks that composure that is required to carry on in the middle order. But he can be useful at number 7, where he can attack with a clear mind.
James Taylor was doing fine at number 3. Him being shifted to number 6 was a horrible decision. He is someone who is good at playing steady knocks, he cannot come in at 6 and start hitting from ball 1. Taylor is the perfect number 3 for the English side.
Steven Finn should be out of the team till he gets back his pace. The lengths that he bowls were useful when he regularly crossed 140ks, but at this current pace, he is an easy target for the batsmen. He did look allright once he made a comeback, but was certainly below his best.
Guys like Samit Patel and James Tredwell are not valued at all. Both of them are very handy ODI players. Tredwell looks like the most impressive spin bowler after Swann. And Patel is a useful left arm spin bowler who also brings in the X-factor with the bat. The selectors need to show some faith in these two guys for the shorter formats. Its baffling that Tredwell isn't given enough opportunities.
Death bowling is an area of concern for England, Jordan and Woakes can solve the death bowling issues of the team. They can bowl good variations and are not one dimensional like Finn and Broad. With the new rules, most bowlers are going to get a hammering towards, but Jordan and Woakes look good enough for the job. Apart from these two, they need to try a couple of young bowlers, and give them a bit of exposure.
Stuard Broad hasn’t been that effective, his performances in the last couple of years have been below par despite of playing in conditions that offer something to the bowler. He deserves a bit of a break.
James Anderson is one of the most skilled bowlers, but I guess he has been overused in recent past, he looks a bit worn out but still warrants a place in the side. He should be used only for selected games I feel.
Below is my XI according to the batting order,
1. M. Lumb/Alex Hales
2. Ian Bell
3. James Taylor
4. Moeen Ali
5. Joe Root
6. Jos Buttler
7. Eoin Morgan
8. Samit Patel/James Tredwell
9. Chris Jordan
10. Chris Woakes
11. James Anderson
Overall, the above side has a top 3 that is well balanced. A middle order that can not only score runs quickly but spend enough time in the middle overs, and a lower order that is capable of scoring crucial runs. If you look at the bowling, Woakes and Jordan have tremendous potential and can bat when required.
England should also keep Bopara, Jason Roy and Meaker in the frame. Bopara was one of their better ODI batsmen recently and all of a sudden a few bad performances and he is been written off.
One more factor would be to give a longer rope to aggressive batsmen like Hales, they cannot improve without experience.
Firstly, I don't feel Moeen should be used as an opener. He can score at a brisk pace, but because of his shot selection, there is a chance of him throwing it away quite often against the two new balls. At the same time he is also a touch player who can be good at strike rotation and can make better use of the second powerplay. In T20s its fine, but I don't think in a team like England, you would want to expose a match winner like Moeen against the two new balls. He can be more profitable at number 4.
I think if England wants an aggressive opener, Lumb and Hales are worth taking risk with. I would go with Lumb because Hales still looks like a WIP player at the moment.
Morgan looks so confused each time he comes in to bat early. Its clearly visible that he lacks that composure that is required to carry on in the middle order. But he can be useful at number 7, where he can attack with a clear mind.
James Taylor was doing fine at number 3. Him being shifted to number 6 was a horrible decision. He is someone who is good at playing steady knocks, he cannot come in at 6 and start hitting from ball 1. Taylor is the perfect number 3 for the English side.
Steven Finn should be out of the team till he gets back his pace. The lengths that he bowls were useful when he regularly crossed 140ks, but at this current pace, he is an easy target for the batsmen. He did look allright once he made a comeback, but was certainly below his best.
Guys like Samit Patel and James Tredwell are not valued at all. Both of them are very handy ODI players. Tredwell looks like the most impressive spin bowler after Swann. And Patel is a useful left arm spin bowler who also brings in the X-factor with the bat. The selectors need to show some faith in these two guys for the shorter formats. Its baffling that Tredwell isn't given enough opportunities.
Death bowling is an area of concern for England, Jordan and Woakes can solve the death bowling issues of the team. They can bowl good variations and are not one dimensional like Finn and Broad. With the new rules, most bowlers are going to get a hammering towards, but Jordan and Woakes look good enough for the job. Apart from these two, they need to try a couple of young bowlers, and give them a bit of exposure.
Stuard Broad hasn’t been that effective, his performances in the last couple of years have been below par despite of playing in conditions that offer something to the bowler. He deserves a bit of a break.
James Anderson is one of the most skilled bowlers, but I guess he has been overused in recent past, he looks a bit worn out but still warrants a place in the side. He should be used only for selected games I feel.
Below is my XI according to the batting order,
1. M. Lumb/Alex Hales
2. Ian Bell
3. James Taylor
4. Moeen Ali
5. Joe Root
6. Jos Buttler
7. Eoin Morgan
8. Samit Patel/James Tredwell
9. Chris Jordan
10. Chris Woakes
11. James Anderson
Overall, the above side has a top 3 that is well balanced. A middle order that can not only score runs quickly but spend enough time in the middle overs, and a lower order that is capable of scoring crucial runs. If you look at the bowling, Woakes and Jordan have tremendous potential and can bat when required.
England should also keep Bopara, Jason Roy and Meaker in the frame. Bopara was one of their better ODI batsmen recently and all of a sudden a few bad performances and he is been written off.
One more factor would be to give a longer rope to aggressive batsmen like Hales, they cannot improve without experience.