So, a forgettable England campaign at the 2015 Cricket World Cup comes to an end tomorrow against lowly Afghanistan.
Unsurprisingly, England's head coach, Peter Moores, has been defended by his number two, Paul Farbrace, saying that Moores hasn't "cost" the team to be knocked out of the tournament.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/31846284
Moores' post match interview with Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports wasn't inspiring as he lamented the lack of experience in the team and an unsettled side going into the tournament.
http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/cricket/9751526/moores-weve-let-people-down#ooid=MyaDJ1czrJemnf9PfGwbEKb52Xe1lImo
The team had six months to prepare for this tournament and should have left Cook out of the team earlier. An ideal number three in James Taylor had been found yet they replaced him with the ineffective Gary Ballance at the start of the tournament. England were simply makers of their own downfall.
The World Cup was lost mainly due to lacklustre batting and bowling in the middle overs which put extra pressure on the team at the end of the innings. Batting at 4/over between the 11th and 34th overs isn't good enough and, with no variety in England's bowling, other teams milked us.
James Taylor and Joe Root showed in the Tri-Series what an effective partnership they have out in the middle and Taylor's ability to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over was missed in the middle overs. England Player of the Tournament, Jos Buttler, is more than just a finisher and should bat higher in the order. His tournament strike rate of 135.57 would have a lot more impact across 20 overs instead of 10. Eoin Morgan's captaincy hasn't been special but he showed some initiative in his field settings against Bangladesh.
The opening attack of James Anderson and Stuart Broad was disappointing with Anderson only looking threatening against Bangladesh. Their bowling was simply too short to allow the ball to swing. Moeen Ali has developed in to a canny spinner who can take wickets and there is no surprise that he was England's most economical bowler going at 5.28/over. So why wasn't James Tredwell playing as well? Ali and Tredwell could have worked in tandem to frustrate other teams during the middle overs.
Michael Carberry, speaking on Sky Sports The Verdict, gave some valuable insight into the England set-up. Contrary to Moores and Farbrace, statistics are "very much apart of" how England play cricket according to Carberry. Carberry continued by saying none of his England playing career "made any sense" as he was told to play the percentages and not be aggressive.
Analysing the percentages is better suited to Test Match cricket, not the modern one day game. The world has passed England by in the one day and T20 formats that require players to think on their feet, show initiative and adapt to the game situation.
A more pro-active, instinctive and ruthless approach is required. The next four years between now and the next World Cup should be spent on England developing young players who show these qualities in their game. A new coach with these qualities would help as well. Australian coach, Darren Lehman, has shown what a no-nonsense mindset can bring. Jason Gillespie has done well at Yorkshire and is a viable candidate.
But to the task at hand. Afghanistan await at the Sydney Cricket Ground and they surely fancy their chances. Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes will be out injured so my team would be Hales, Bell, Taylor, Root, Buttler (wk), Morgan (c), Bopara, Jordan, Tredwell, Broad, Anderson
England have only won one game this tournament and that was against Scotland. Will this be the first time England haven't won two games at a Cricket World Cup? It just could be.
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