Not a single Englishman made a composite world one-day XI this week, the past six series have culminated in five defeats and the selectors have ripped up the team sheet with the World Cup just three months away. The facts hardly instill confidence. No wonder Sachin Tendulkar was dismissive of England’s credentials when quizzed on the subject.
However, Joe Root has offered a rare, sustained counterattack from an England batsman, arguing that out of uncertainty a competitive beast can be born, and that operating under the radar could be advantageous for Alastair Cook’s men. Their chance to put the theory to the test comes on a seven-match ODI tour of Sri Lanka, for which they depart in 10 days’ time.
While other countries are fine-tuning, England begin their winter diet of 50-over cricket entrenched in experimental phase: despite positive noises there are no long-term fitness guarantees over their injured pacemen, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, while the batting remains a work-in-progress. In terms of experience, opener Alex Hales has one series – September’s 3-1 defeat to India – while two other international greenhorns, James Taylor and Moeen Ali, boast seven caps between them.
“That means there’s not an expectation for us to do well, which could work out for us,” said Root. “We know we have the squad of players to do really good things and a lot of young exciting players. Not a lot of people have seen what they can do yet. Again, that could play into our hands because you can’t do as much homework on them and you don’t know their games as well as the other guys.
“We’re very capable. The big thing for us now is we have this massive period of just playing one-day cricket and we’ll have opportunities to find our best formula, our best side, and get used to playing together.
“A lot of successful sides are very consistent and play pretty much the same side every game. We’ve not done that. If we can get ourselves some of that consistency, a regular side and everyone fitting into their role, we’ll be a really tough side.
“We know we’ve not been good enough for the last six months and this period now is about getting it right and making sure we’re in the best shape possible for 14 February.”
That is the date England open their World Cup campaign against hosts Australia in front of an anticipated 80,000 crowd at the MCG. For some, including Root, the experience of such an occasion will evoke painful memories, although the Yorkshireman suggests they will be better mentally prepared to combat such a hostile environment after confessing it spooked him during the 2013-14 Ashes debacle.
“More than anything it was the atmosphere that is created out there – and the crowds which are bigger than they are here,” Root, who spent the early part of this week with his international team-mates undergoing fitness tests at Loughborough, said.
“It kind of caught me off guard a little. Having experienced it now [we need to] make sure that everyone who has not played out there has an indication of what that was like. The thing about games like that is that they are the ones you want to play in. It is just about making sure you are ready for it.”
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