There has been a pattern to England’s one-day cricket over the years. Too often the focus has been on the output of those in charge, which has not always been satisfactory.
This was the case at various times with Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook and even Eoin Morgan during England’s desultory World Cup campaign last winter. Admittedly, Morgan came good in the summer of 2015 – until the jolt in the final game against Australia when he was concussed after being hit by a ball from Mitchell Starc at Old Trafford. Apart from a little outing against Hong Kong on Sunday he has not batted since. So there is an element of Morgan remounting the horse when the ODI series against Pakistan gets under way on Wednesday.
The affliction among the leaders can even extend to the vice captain. Currently that post is held by Jos Buttler. After a little scare of a finger injury he is expected to retain his place, despite the loss of form which led to his being dropped from the Test side and which also saw him being “rested” at the end of the one-day series against Australia.
On the eve of Wednesday’s match Morgan was swift to express his faith in Buttler, as well as his own confidence to return unscathed after what he candidly admits was a traumatic experience at Old Trafford against Starc. “At the time it was quite concerning,” the captain said, “because the ball hit me hard. I’ve watched it back a number of times to see if I could have played it differently and, hats off, it was a good delivery. I’ve done a lot of short ball practice since then and I’m quite confident that I’ve progressed.
“It was about 10 days before I was myself again,” added Morgan, whose balance was disturbed in the aftermath of the blow. “It was a really weird feeling. It was worrying because the feeling of concussion is something I’ve never had before.
“It’s crucial to get back out there as long as you’re feeling all right and I am. I know guys who have had longer concussions and I feel very lucky to be back this soon.”
Now Morgan wears a special helmet and he has had scans so that it can be moulded to fit perfectly. Theoretically, the chances of being hit on the head in Abu Dhabi are reduced. There is no Starc around nor will the pitch have anything like the pace of Old Trafford. Even so, Morgan will be happy to negotiate his first bouncer, which is most likely to come from Wahab Riaz.
He will also be happy if Buttler returns to form. This pair share some similarities: they are both intelligent, self-contained cricketers with icy eyes. At their best they can also chart a run chase clinically, assessing risks better than their peers. But Buttler has not been at his best for some time now.
Naturally Morgan, who must have encouraged Buttler’s rapid elevation to the vice-captaincy, is upbeat. “I’m confident he can recapture his form.
“White-ball cricket is something he prides himself on and in recent years he has been outstanding and he has shown glimpses of world-class ability.
“Jos is a very confident guy and plays a crucial role as vice-captain in this team.
“He’s a leader in the group [albeit a soft-spoken one] and I think he holds the first and second fastest hundreds for England, which is a huge accolade. His role in the changing room stays the same and he’s handled himself very well since coming back to the one-day stuff after the Test tour.”
With Buttler earmarked to play, Jonny Bairstow seems destined to be on the sidelines again. James Taylor is expected to be one of the five specialist batsmen. In fact just about all the names, with the exception of Reece Topley, could be tossed into a hat, taken out at random and a presentable batting order would ensue. Moeen Ali and David Willey both have experience of opening the batting against a white ball but they are likely to reside in the lower middle-order.
England are the nippers in this contest. Only one member of their squad, Liam Plunkett, is over 30, and he may not get a game in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan have seven players over 30 and their average age has risen even higher with the recall of Younis Khan, who is 37.
Maybe youthful vigour will be important since these matches are not scheduled to finish until after 11pm local time. I will try to stay awake.
