If England are to defend their title, input from Stokes, Root, Buttler, Rashid et al will be key
Matt Roller08-Sep-2023It resembled an old-fashioned shoot-out. With the ICC final World Cup selection deadline looming, Harry Brook and Dawid Malan walked out to open the batting together in the Cardiff sunshine. Naturally, their first task was to help England beat New Zealand in the first ODI – but the subplot was clear.At least one of Brook and Malan will be in England’s 15-man squad for India, and possibly both. England are in no rush to make a firm decision – they have nearly three weeks to finalise their travelling party – and will hope that an obvious solution presents itself, whether through form or through injury.Malan made the stronger case, scoring a fluent half-century – the eighth time he has passed 50 in his 19 ODIs – but fell to Rachin Ravindra for 54 in the first over of spin bowled. Brook, who arrived in Wales late on Thursday night and played after Jason Roy suffered a back spasm, made 25 off 41 before gloving a sharp Lockie Ferguson bouncer behind.What did it all mean? Malan’s innings encapsulated the differences between T20I and ODI cricket. He has long insisted that 50-over cricket is his strongest format and he played several crisp cover-drives to get England up and running in the Powerplay, resembling a completely different batter to the one who lacked tempo in the preceding T20Is.Brook clipped the first ball of the match for four through fine leg but only managed one more boundary, playing second fiddle throughout an opening partnership worth 80. He was thrown in at the deep end, opening in a 50-over match for the first time; this was further proof that even the best young players will have the occasional off-day.In truth, the picture has hardly changed: Malan is still a consistent 50-over run-scorer; Brook remains a hugely exciting young player. There may be some concern over Roy’s fitness, having missed most of the Blast with a calf tear, but England have every reason to be cautious rather than risking players at this stage.Jonny Bairstow was rested as a precaution with a shoulder niggle. “We didn’t want to take a risk,” Jos Buttler explained. Mark Wood was not required either: “He’s still building back up… we don’t need to rush it. Getting him fully fit and ready for travelling to India is the priority.”Dawid Malan stole a march on Harry Brook in the fight for a World Cup squad berth•PA Photos/Getty ImagesIf anything, then, Friday was a reminder that the identity of England’s fringe players is unlikely to be the difference between success and failure at the World Cup. For all the intrigue around selection – and the interest in Brook specifically – major tournaments tend to be won by teams whose senior players perform.Four years ago, at the equivalent stage in their World Cup preparations, there were two spots for England to resolve in their squad: which reserve seamer would Jofra Archer squeeze out, and who should be their spin-bowling allrounder? They backed Tom Curran and Liam Dawson over David Willey and Joe Denly – and at the tournament itself, neither of them played a game.Careers can hinge on such decisions: Willey thought his days as an England player were over after his last-minute omission in 2019 and cherishes the medal he picked up as a member of last year’s T20 World Cup squad, despite the fact he did not make an appearance.But whatever England choose to do this time around, the performance of the players who are guaranteed to feature will be far more relevant to their progress in the tournament than decisions around who should be their spare batter or their sixth seamer.Related
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Take Joe Root. He struggled to get going on Friday, making 6 off 15 balls before slog-sweeping Ravindra to deep midwicket, and the next three ODIs will be vital match practice for him in a format he has hardly played over the last four years. Whether he scores 250 runs or 500 in the World Cup will make a huge difference to England’s hopes.Much the same is true of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, who slipped seamlessly back into 50-over tempo in a partnership of 88 off 104 balls. England would have been runners-up but for their 110-run stand in the final four years ago: “The thing about World Cups,” Stokes said on Thursday, “is they can come down to who can handle the pressure best.”England lacked a cutting edge with the ball, with Wood kept in mothballs ahead of more important tests to come and Adil Rashid unavailable to bowl due to cramp while Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell were building their unbroken, match-winning partnership of 180.Rashid’s eventual figures – 1 for 70 in eight overs – were ugly by the conclusion, but redeemed by the context, having to bowl to two set batters with the field up as England chased the game – that too at a ground with notoriously short straight boundaries. Again, England will not be worried so long as he comes good when it matters – as he did in Australia last year.It is not that England don’t care about results – they were rightly proud to beat Bangladesh 2-1 earlier this year, given Bangladesh’s formidable home record – but they have accepted these shadow bouts for what they are. “Of course, we’re disappointed,” Buttler said, “but there’s a lot of quality in the team.”Tom Latham, New Zealand’s captain, joked that these two teams are playing a five-match series: four September ODIs in England, then a fifth in Ahmedabad on the opening night of the World Cup in four weeks’ time. But England’s approach has long been attuned to the futility of modern bilateral series: these games will be quickly forgotten so long as they win on October 5 … and beyond.
