Why this is the most important position in England’s ODI team
Cricket is in the midst of a surfeit of 50 over cricket as teams across the globe prepare for the World Cup which takes place in Australia and New Zealand at the start of 2015. As for England, seven ODIs in Sri Lanka will determine the squad for the finals and while there may be a few changes in personnel over the coming weeks, one particular slot in the side is the most vital one.
The key man
Captain Alastair Cook came in for plenty of criticism at the end of the English summer. It had been a mixed season with the bat in all forms of the game and while there were brief signs of a return to form in the test arena, his displays in the One Day Internationals against India and Sri Lanka were too pedestrian for the modern game.
This is a format which has been transformed by T20 cricket; the fast scoring in the twenty over game has been transferred into ODIs to the point where combined scores can pass 400 and a player such as Rohit Sharma can make a scarcely believable 264.
In this environment, can a man such as Alastair Cook, with a strike rate of under 78, hope to compete? The answer is a tentative yes, but his success over the next few months relies heavily on his new opening partner.
Upping the tempo
Alongside his pedestrian skipper, Alex Hales will be a key performer as he inspires a number of Tortoise v Hare analogies throughout the Sri Lanka series but if he can translate an impressive international T20 record into the longer format, England might just have a better chance of world cup glory than the pundits suggest.
A fast 70 or more from the Notts Outlaw will free up Captain Cook to play a more natural game – one that has achieved some positive results in 50 over cricket – and the skipper will then have the opportunity to bat through. Together, the two men can then lay a platform for the middle order before the recognised finishers Bopara and Buttler can help the side reach those 300+ totals that will be required if they are to compete down under.
Previous partnerships
All of this is a little harsh on the previous opening pairing of Cook and Ian Bell who were, at one time, trading centuries when they were first put together. However, as the pace of the modern game increased, they simply became too slow as a partnership.
Cook is an experienced head as far as international cricket is concerned so the pressure is very much on his new partner and if Hales struggles on difficult surfaces in Sri Lanka, there is something a queue forming, ready to take his place.
England’s alternatives
English selectors tend to employ a ‘next cab off the rank policy’ and having proved himself in T20 cricket, Alex Hales was always going to be first in line to replace Bell, who may find a slot down the order. However, Hampshire’s James Vince may consider himself unlucky to have missed out on a squad place after a prolific domestic season while Jason Roy of Surrey finished the season as the leading run scorer in the Nat West T20 Blast.
Whoever lines up alongside Alastair Cook in the 2015 World Cup, their job will be a simple one: Score quickly, stay at the crease for 20 overs or more and with the skipper free to play a patient role and bat through, this much-criticised English side may just surprise a few people Down Under.