With Jofra Archer and Mark Wood reunited, England once again have an essential element of their 2019 World Cup victory: two bowlers of extreme pace. Yet, for England’s Champions Trophy hopes, even more important is rediscovering the essential quality that underpinned their hitherto outstanding ODI side: their command of the middle overs.
There were far more glamorous aspects behind the 2019 triumph: the openers’ belligerence; brutal hitting at the death from Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes; and an incisive and varied attack, marrying high pace with Adil Rashid’s leg spin. But throughout the 2015-19 ODI cycle, England were the world’s best with the bat in the middle overs, the phase that accounts for 60 per cent of the innings.
England found what insiders called a “high cruising speed”: the ability to score at a run a ball in the middle overs with little risk. In music terms, this is akin to allegro tempo: brisk, but also sustainable.
Over the four years that culminated with the Super Over victory in the World Cup final, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan, England’s regular numbers three and four, managed 12 century partnerships together. From the 11th to 40th overs in this period, Root averaged 88 against spin with a strike rate of 95; Morgan averaged 72 with a strike rate of 104. Such dexterity in the middle overs meant that England were often well on their way to an impregnable total, or cruising to their target, before the last 10 overs arrived.
No longer. Consider England’s last ODI series, in India earlier this month. England essentially matched the hosts in the Powerplay – scoring 1.2 runs per over more, though they lost two more wickets across the three games. But in the middle overs, between the 11th and 40th overs, there was a chasm between the sides. India averaged 54.6 in this phase; England averaged 25.9 and lost 16 wickets. Long before the death overs arrived, England were hurtling towards their own demise.
It was not a new failing. Since the start of 2022, England have been bowled out in 23 ODI innings out of 46: 50 per cent of the time, they are failing to bat the full 50 overs. In the previous six years, England were bowled out only in 20 per cent of innings.
England’s 50-over transformation after the 2015 World Cup was underpinned by a new spirit of liberation. In their fourth match after the World Cup, they were bowled out for 302 with almost five overs remaining and then lost. Morgan refused to criticise the batsmen for their approach, recognising how the side needed to be comfortable taking on a greater level of risk.
Yet in recent years, the opposite has been true. Where England have failed in 50-over cricket - and they have lost two games for every one they have won since the 2023 World Cup – they have tended to embrace risk too willingly.
It was once a cliche to say that ODIs were becoming like extended T20 games. In fact, the two white-ball formats have diverged, with Test match skills still essential in the 50-over game. England have mislaid the middle-over cruising speed that was once their superpower, too readily frittering away promising starts. In the last ODI in India, all the top five reached 19; none passed 38.
Emerging players are hampered by forces beyond their control. The generation of batsmen who won the 2019 World Cup all had terrific records in the domestic one-day game, thriving in the old 40-over competition. But, owing to the Hundred, there has been no domestic one-day cricket played by county sides at full strength since 2019. During the 2023 World Cup, Harry Brook admitted that he was “learning on the job” in the format.
So it is for Jamie Smith now: England’s new No3 has only batted that high once before in the domestic one-day game. Smith’s temperament and his rounded game suggest that he could still thrive in this role. He could also benefit the men below him, who are all shuffling down one place in the order.
Internally, England used to call No 3 ‘the Joe Root role’. But in the 2023 World Cup, the premier middle-order accumulator was too seldom around in this phase. Root was dismissed five times within the Powerplay.
Moving Root down will protect him from the new ball – and so maximise the chances that he will be able to show off his deft touches and array of sweeps against spin. At four, England’s premier technician should control the tempo of the innings – recognising both opportune moments to attack, and when high-class spells of spin or rapid pace demand a little more restraint. The centuries made by Will Young and Tom Latham in the tournament’s opening game, to steer New Zealand from 73 for three to an imperious 320, were another reminder of the adaptability that ODI batting demands.
For all the impact of T20 on the format, 50-over matches are not won by pyrotechnics alone. Just as important is what happens in between, in more mundane moments. If Root can be the master of allegro in Pakistan, it will give England’s batting line-up what it has lacked for too long: balance.
Buttler bites back at claims England do not care about white-ball defeats
Jos Buttler has hit back at criticism that England’s players did not care about results during their recent thrashings in India, saying that comments were “taken out of context”.
During the tour of India, when England lost 4-1 in the Twenty20 series and then were whitewashed in the one-day internationals, Ben Duckett said that “if we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final in the Champions Trophy”. The comments attracted criticism, with India legend Ravichandran Ashwin accusing England of “hiding your failures behind humour”.
Before his side’s Champions Trophy tournament opener against Australia in Lahore, Buttler has slammed the idea that England were unconcerned by their poor recent results in bilateral cricket.
“Sometimes headlines can be created out of things that maybe someone doesn’t quite mean – or words can be misconstrued or can be taken out of context,” the England white-ball captain said.
“But every single player who plays international sport no matter what sport it is, I can guarantee wouldn’t have got there if they weren’t ultra-competitive and didn’t want to win. So don’t mistake that for guys saying they don’t.
“What people must understand is that people saying they want to win doesn’t guarantee results. You have to find ways to look after the things that you can control. Do that, see the bigger picture sometimes, but also work out how you need to be really present at a tournament like the Champions Trophy, which is certainly one where you’re not looking too far ahead about any big picture, it’s about performing well to give us the best chance of winning the game and take us further into the tournament.
“I would never try and question any professional’s desire or want to win every game. But ICC tournaments and World Cups, they obviously have extra meaning because that’s the nature of the beast. That’s why they do mean more.”
