Nice guys finish last – or so the saying goes. However, Peter Moores has denied accusations his England team are too soft to make an impact at the World Cup.
While the likes of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa will pitch up at the tournament with battle-hardened and streetwise squads, England’s likely XI in Melbourne on 14 February will include six World Cup virgins.
That inexperience was exposed by Australia during last Sunday’s Tri-Series final in Perth, when a brittle batting lineup was bullied by Mitchell Johnson and a bowling attack whose only previous World Cup participants were Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad was bludgeoned into submission by James Faulkner.
Australian teams pride themselves on having a bit of ‘mongrel’ about them. Steve Waugh had it, so do David Warner and Johnson. It is a commodity seemingly lacking in an England squad shorn of big characters such as Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff from recent years.
Only Anderson, a veteran of three previous World Cups, and, perhaps, Broad have the nasty competitive streak that can be the difference between winning and losing big games.
Chris Woakes, along with James Taylor, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Steven Finn and Jos Buttler, are all preparing for their first World Cup. To a man they are polite, personable and happy to get by without saying anything likely to antagonise the opposition or their team’s management.
Moores, their coach, often has the habit of appearing to speak in tongues, such is his predilection for management speak. He was as clear as day, however, when it was put to him that his team are just too nice to succeed at the highest level.
“No, they’re not nice,” he said. “They’re quiet. They’re not soft at all, they’re quiet – there’s a big difference. Steely quiet is different to being soft. Those who haven’t played internationals much have to find their way of being tough to play against. We’ve got those finding their style of how they’re going to be – much like Jimmy Anderson found his way through his career. Now people find him hard to face. We’ve got a few lads finding that but they’ll find it fast.”
Moores was equally forthright when asked whether his players had been cowed by Johnson, the Australia fast bowler’s three wickets in 10 balls in Perth accounting for Moeen, Taylor and Eoin Morgan, the captain. “He’s a good bowler and he got wickets,” said Moores. “I don’t see him as different to anyone else really. Normally you judge how people are playing if they play and miss all the time or if they’ve being hit on the pads all the time. That wasn’t happening.
“Moeen got a good ball and got out. It was a good bit of bowling and Morgan got a first ball. I don’t think that’s anything to do with it being Johnson. It could have been Mitchell Starc or anybody.”
Johnson took 37 wickets during England’s Ashes whitewash in 2013-14 and will be looking forward to following up last weekend’s performance in the World Cup opener in Melbourne on Valentine’s Day.
Of the batsmen who played in the Tri-Series, only Ian Bell and Joe Root faced Johnson in Australia on the 2013-14 tour. However, it is hard to dispute the 33-year-old has a hold over England.
“It’s a different team,” countered Moores. “It’s not the feeling I get in the dressing room at all. If I did, I’d tell you. You’ve got to be able to take it [the Australia defeat] on the chin. Take the pain from it as you want to perform on the big day and make sure you use it in our favour on the 14th.”
Moores remains positive about England’s World Cup prospects, with the two Tri-Series wins against India going some way to offsetting the concerns generated by three defeats to Australia. “We’re in a much stronger position now than we were when we came to Australia,” he said. “It’s an exciting group of players to work with. There’s a lot of things in that group that feel right. This team’s got something about it.”
Changes may be made in Sydney next week, when England warm up for their big date in Melbourne with matches against the West Indies and Pakistan. That may mean Gary Ballance, fit again after fracturing a finger, Alex Hales, James Tredwell and Chris Jordan being given chances to impress. “Sydney is an opportunity to look at people,” said Moores. “You’re always conscious going into a tournament that people who aren’t playing need to be ready. You don’t know at what stage you’ll need them, through injury or whatever. We’ll take that into consideration.”
