Some people might sneer, and claim that beating Bangladesh is no big deal, but the statistics say otherwise. The hosts had lost just 3 of their last 20 ODIs at home, and had recently enjoyed series wins over New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa. That’s the South Africa who have just whitewashed Australia 5-0 by the way.
England’s victory in the decisive 3rd ODI yesterday is therefore something to be celebrated … in a mild mannered, somewhat reserved, and quintessentially English kind of way that doesn’t anger the match referee of course.
England’s achievement is all the more impressive because we won the decider without our captain (more about him later) and the whole of our regular top 4 – Hales, Roy, Root and Morgan himself.
The batting stars yesterday were Sam Billings, who most Bangladeshis probably knew as a reserve IPL batsman, and Ben Duckett, a young guy playing his third ODI. Let’s just say that whereas England’s test batting cupboard is relatively bare, our limited overs storeroom is absolutely jammed.
The other thing to note is that England only played well for half the match yesterday. Our efforts with the ball and in the field left much to be desired. It was almost as if David Saker had made an unwelcome return: all our seamers bowled far too short, far too often. Adil Rashid bowled well but even he took some of his wickets with rank longhops. Generally speaking, it was a sloppy effort.
The batting, however, was an absolute revelation. Some (including myself) feared a trial by spin and yet another collapse. How wrong I was … again. Although it never really turned much, and the pitch played pretty well, Sam Billings and Ben Duckett were absolutely superb.
Billings looks like an absolute gem. Although he’s stronger through the legside than the offside, what impressed me most (other than his crisp stokes) was his swagger. The bloke was oozing confidence from the word go. He looked like an established star with two hundred games under his belt.
We simply have to find a permanent place for Billings in this team. The problem is, this comment applies to about thirteen or fourteen cricketers at the moment. It doesn’t seem fair that we can only pick eleven.
Duckett is also surely a star in the making. I tweeted at one point that he looked just like a young Eoin Morgan: inventive and supremely confident. Nasser Hussain made the same point after the game. Whereas Duckett (like Billings) has oodles of swagger, Morgan has lost some of his mojo over the years.
The platform that Billings and Duckett established was absolutely crucial. Even though we lost a few wickets – Bairstow and Moeen played very poor shots – we were never behind the rate. Ben Stokes’ mature 47 off 48 balls and Woakes 27 off 18 saw us over the line. It was a very impressive chase that we never looked like screwing up … which made a nice change.
Moving forward I think it’s almost impossible to select our best XI now. Trevor Bayliss gave a strong hint after the game that Morgan and Hales would come straight back into the team, so I assume that means Vince and Bairstow, neither of whom particularly impressed during this series, will make way.
However, and this is the big problem, there’s also Joe Root and Jason Roy to consider. Who will make way for them? One assumes it will be Billings and Duckett. But doesn’t it seem crazy, and more than a tad harsh, to drop two supremely talented youngsters who’ve just won you a tough series?
The big question is therefore this: should Eoin Morgan automatically stroll back into the side? After all, Morgan is the established batsman with the least impressive recent record.
Even if one puts aside the skipper’s decision to skip Bangladesh – I supported his decision not to tour – I still think there are compelling cricketing reasons to leave Morgan out. For starters, he averages just 32 over the last twelve months with zero hundreds and three fifties in 17 innings.
Although it’s fair to point out that Morgan had a purple patch last summer, making no less than seven scores of 50+ in ten innings, I’m afraid this was something of an aberration. His scores in the 12 months before that were 31, 3, 40, 12,17, 28, 10, 32, 14, 1, 17, 1, 62, 5, 0, 4, 121, 0, 2, 0, 0, 17, 46, 27 and 0. That’s just 490 runs at an average of 19.6 with just one fifty and one hundred in 25 innings.
I’m not saying that Morgan is a bad player by any means – although I don’t think he’s been quite the same player since his problems with that horrible crouching stance – but is he doing enough to keep out potential superstars like Duckett?
I’m glad I don’t have to make this call myself. Some might argue that Duckett is the new Morgan … because he looks exactly like the old Morgan.
James Morgan
The first point to make is that it leaves England in a good place for the 2017 Champions Trophy – plenty of options. I’m not even sure Root fits into this new England team (though that’s harsh given his recent record). Vince doesn’t conVince (sorry). I don’t think you can hold Morgan and Hales’s decision not to tour against them, but neither can they walk back into the side: you elect not to play; you take the risk. Looking forward to the CT (because that’s what England should be looking at), they need to rotate, and make sure they know their best combination before they start.
Agreed. We have so many options that there’s a danger we might not create a settled side before the champions trophy. This isn’t a problem we’ve had before!
There’s also Roy; does he keep a place ?
I’m not worried about the one day batting – the selectors are so spoiled for choice that even our lot are going to struggle to make a real mess of things.
As I posted in the previous thread, it’s the bowling which need thought (and which is getting little discussion in the press compared to the batting).
Number of wickets in the series…
Rashid 10; Ball 7; Woakes and Stokes 2; Ali 1.
Key tour for Rashid, and I hope England can handle him in a way that builds his confidence. It seems to me that he has the potential to be a consistent match winner – and Buttler seemed to handle him better than most captains, just letting him get on with it.
I fear Cook will undo the good work by showing as little trust in him as he has to date.
I agree that the bowling is nowhere near as strong as the batting imho. I really hope Mark Wood can get himself fit. He’s our quickest bowler and could become a very good wicket taker. Every top side needs a top class quick.
Surely Plunkett gets the Wood role. Pretty much like for like.
Such a good problem to have. Here’s my 11 for what it’s worth…
Roy
Billings
Ducket
Root
Stokes
Buttler
Ali
Woakes
Rashid
Willey
Ball
Hales not done enough recently? I know Trent bridge and edgbaston was years ago…
The first thing is billings should have played ahead of Bairstow in past year, compare their list a records and it’s inexcusable to pick bairstow over him. However as they like the 6 bowling optioned the top 7 should still be Roy hales root Morgan stokes buttler mo. Ben Duckett is a serious player and should bat 4 in the test side but this one day side is just awesome and that means good players miss out. Morgan has done enough to play the ct but buttler has an aura about him and will be an England legend. I’d still back Morgan in a final over the two young guns but it’s very close. If root is rested Duckett plays and if any other top 7 is out billings plays.
I think they signalled that they won’t look to change their 1st xi by keeping stokes and buttler 5/6 and opening with Vince instead of mo. Moeen isn’t a natural 7 where it usually helps to have a strong bottom hand but is improving. I still think stokes may reach his best if he opened against the white ball but his middle order play this series is as well as he’s ever played.
Funny that, aside from Cook, England captains in all three of the national sports may struggle to get into the team on the basis of being the best option….
I’m a big Morgan advocate and he’s given a lot for the team but I think the time has come when a) there are (notably) better batting options, and b) there is also sufficient leadership to experiment with different line ups.
As to the team, it’s a very tricky one. I would go with the following:
Hales
Roy
Root
Billings
Buttler
Stokes
Ali
Woakes
Rashid
Willey
Plunkett
With Duckett first reserve, with some squad rotation. I would also play Duckett in the test team as I think he would get in on merit.
Billings and Duckett both did well but I do think the blog missed one important issue. Billings plays conventional shots with test technique (and can play the unconventional in white ball as well). Duckett plays with pure white ball technique – bat away from pads, strange feet positions at times, especially for the square cut. Of course Billings has some plays and misses but this is inevitable in white ball. So the issue is not whether Billings should be in the ODI side but whether he should be in the test side as well. I have said it before but will repeat it; Billings has good technique and could do the Alec Stewart job in tests, which would solve the opening problem and give us a better keeper. Duckett, with his technique, should remain a white ball player at international level.
I take the points made about Morgan, but I would keep him as captain. Sometimes a captain is only appreciated when something goes wrong, and Buttler and Stokes demonstrated that they are a huge risk in such a role. I have no problem with dropping Morgan if a good alternative skipper can be found.
I am a bit surprised at the bowling comments. Firstly, I would consider Chris Jordan a serious candidate, even though he is not with the squad. We still lack an alternative death bowler. And that leads on to Woakes. Probably the best test bowler now that Anderson and Broad are in decline. But Woakes strength has always been bowling a length and line whilst getting movement. In white ball this risks landing in the hitting zone. I prefer to keep him as the first name on the test sheet and to use him sparingly in white ball (especially as his previous stress injury to the leg was after over bowling him for 18 months). As for spinners; they pick themselves….but only because we lack any of international standard.
A couple of half centuries, and suddenly it’s impossible to imagine leaving the new players out? I’d expect that kind of analysis from The Mail, or from the “journalists” that have never liked Eoin Morgan, but not on here.
Don’t get me wrong – as a Kent fan, I wish Billings every success. But to keep him at the expense of the captain who took over the car-crash left to him by Mr Me Me Me Cook and turned the ODI side into what we see today? I’d say that was pretty harsh.
It’s more Morgan versus Duckett really. I happen to think (just my view) that Duckett can be a really special one day player and although I’ve always liked Morgan, I don’t think he’s as good as he used to be. I didn’t say I’d drop Morgan, I said there’s a case for doing so.
I’m not sure how often you read this blog these days but I’ve long stuck up for Morgan in the past. I strongly defended his right not to tour Bangladesh (unlike some of the mainstream journos you mentioned) but I’m just not convinced he’s one of the best four or five specialist limited overs batsmen available anymore. He might well still be worth his place, but his form hasn’t been great for 2-3 years, and I’m just expressing my doubts. I’m conflicted.
I heard Fabrace saying this about Morgan. How he’s dragged us into the light.
If he picked Roy & Hales at the top of the order and gave them license to attack than fair enough.
I think the reality is Bayliss has changed our approach, bat deep and go for it. When you’ve got Ali, Woakes, Willey & Rashid at 7-10 its quite easy to just go for it.
I’d like to see Morgan have the same strategy with Broad, Swann, Anderson & Finn in those positions.
Rashid’s 10 wickets are the joint-most for a spinner in a three-match ODI series (level with the likes of Murali and Ajmal).