SO after the test series joy comes one day pain as England lose the series to New Zealand with one match still left on the fixture list.
Truth be told this has been coming since the winter when Cook’s men went to New Zealand, fresh from beating India and expecting a nice easy two months thrashing the Black Caps.
They forgot one of the top rules of professional sport, beware of the underdog! New Zealand may be low in the rankings for test and one day cricket, doesn’t make em rubbish!
New Zealand stood toe to toe with England in their homeland and nearly embarrassed them in the final test match.
They may not have got the job done in NZ or in the tests here but my word have they embarrassed England in the past 72 hours.
Friday was bad enough but today England were shown up with bat, ball and in the field by a team who had a plan – if Cook’s team had a plan they clearly read it upside down!
The Kiwis have cottoned on that Anderson and Bresnan are dangers with the new ball, but after that it’s a bit of a buffet on offer and boy did they fill their plates.
Dernbach is not good enough for ODI cricket, too much variation, all of which has been figured out while Woakes is a fish out of water – horribly exposed.
England could do with Anderson having a new ball partner, like Graham Onions or perhaps even a Chris Wright from Warwickshire then unleash the bounce of Broad, the seam of Bresnan and the spin of Swann.
Batting wise England need a rethink, Cook should open, Trott should be at three but the rest of the personnel need looking at. It’s too late for the Champions Trophy, England have already named their 15 but
long term Ashley Giles needs to ask some searching questions.
Bell as a opener for me has a failed – Root would be a better option in ODI’s with Bell coming in at five behind Pietersen and in front of Bairstow and Buttler.
Morgan has done very little in England ODI colours for me, like Dernbach he could do with being relegated to t20 duties for a while.
But what is more worrying is England’s reliance still on a formula when they bowl, thou shall not bowl a spinner until the 12/13th over!
New Zealand not that keen on spin, why not throw Swann the ball for a couple of overs at the start of the innings, hold Anderson or Bresnan back a while?
What is clear is on this form, England will once again disappoint in a cricket tournament they are hosting, thank god there isn’t an official song like 1999.......
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