Barely weeks after the culmination of England’s insipid title defence in India, the road to 2027 begins in earnest with a three-match affair in the Caribbean.
With over-50s cricket increasingly on hiatus at home and abroad outside of major tournaments, there are fewer opportunities than ever to find out who England’s best ODI players are . As low-key as the series against the under-strength West Indies, which almost missed out on qualifying for the 2023 World Cup, it remains an important fact-finding mission for decision-makers.
So what can England learn from this series?
Are the new cabal of fast bowlers the real deal?
One of the most notable features of the recent series of central contracts has been the investment in a group of inexperienced fast bowlers, some of whom are capable of reaching 90mph. Josh Tan, Brydon Kearse and Gus Atkinson were given central contracts worth six years, despite making 25 appearances for England. John Turner has only played in two County Championship games but is still on a development contract. All four have been selected for the West Indies series, but Tan is currently out with injury and has been replaced by Matthew Potts, another multi-year central contract holder.
It will be interesting to see how they develop. The rise of Atkinson and Turner in particular shows the appreciation of England’s talent. The players, especially the fast bowlers, have the fundamental elements that England believe are necessary for continued success in international cricket: pace, bounce, precision, movement (perhaps in that order).
Even after the post-World Cup turnover, competition for batting spots is fierce
It is quite possible that England’s top four teams after the World Cup have all played their last ODI. Their absence all together presents an opportunity for the next generation of limited edition star candidates to stake their claim to prime slots, but despite all the changes surrounding them, competition for spots remains fierce. Dew.
<iframe Loading=”lazy” style=”border-radius: 12px;” src=”https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/1XeleYXleZeyGRpmoG2Nzw?utm_source=generator” width=”100%” height=”232″ Frameborder=”0″allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”></iframe> ;
A sign of depth and strength is the lack of Sam Hain. The Warwickshire batsman performed well in his first international cricket match against Ireland, but now, more than five years after his first Test appointment, Ollie Pope is set to give Ollie Pope an international white-collar chance, and he is no longer wanted by the team. It came off. .
Even within the squad, Pope certainly has the makings of being an accomplished ODI No. 3 or 4, alongside Will Jacks, Phil Salt, Zak Crawley, as well as Ben Duckett and Jos Buttler. It’s hard to imagine playing in the Caribbean. and Harry Brooke are probably all ahead of him in line. With so little ODI cricket scheduled for him over the next 12 months, this series will quietly be important in establishing some sort of hierarchy in terms of the top spots.
World Cup underperformers handed a second chance
After it was confirmed that Ben Stokes would not be able to bowl in India, much of the England team’s fate depended on the performance of the remaining all-rounders in the squad: Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran. . All three struggled to establish themselves as first-line batsmen and bowlers. Moeen will be in his 40s by the 2027 World Cup, so it is understandable that he is not part of England’s ODI plans, but despite his age profile, Curran and Livingstone are unlikely to get further opportunities in ODI cricket soon after. There was no guarantee that it would be granted. world cup cup.
Both of them averaged less than 12 with the bat and more than 50 with the ball for India. Curran conceded over eight runs per over. Can they establish themselves as top-seven batsmen or as potential 10-over options? The pair are among his most popular T20 players in the world, but as the World Cup has shown, his two white-ball formats are entirely different beasts.
A chance for Buttler and Mott to build their own team
Despite England’s very disappointing World Cup campaign, both Butler and Mott remained in their respective roles. This is partly due to his success in the T20 World Cup last year, and with the next World Cup coming up in early 2024, now is probably not the time to make a change in either managerial role.
This gives couples their first real chance to build their team. The teams that took part in his 2022 T20 World Cup and his 2023 World Cup were the remnants of Morgan’s team that nearly wiped out everything that came before. Unsurprisingly given England’s white-ball success, staff turnover was minimal.
The situation changed as only six players remained from the group that went to India. For the first time, Butler and Mott had the opportunity to put together a group of players in their own image.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
