All types of scenarios, ideas, analysis and investigations have been carried on England’s premature exit from World Cup. The men who know the English development process, right from the most legendary, have expressed their opinions over the past 24 hours.
All the points suggested are valid, but the greatest fear among the England one-day international (ODI) team seems to be crisis of confidence and nervousness. Most of their top players are rarely put into pressured situations in a finite number of games.
Cast your mind back through the ODI series played over the English summer and on majority of the occasions, the one-day matches are looked upon as the secondary form of the game. Some might say India look at Test cricket the same, but most cricketers in India aspire to be a Test cricketer. It is highly doubtful if that is the case in England.
Most of the top players in the short format of the game, or even the longer format of the game, tend to play in the pressured system of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It might sound ridiculous, but over the space of two months, bowlers and batsmen are put through copious stressful situations. Runs need to be scored when the scoring rates exceed eight, nine or 10 an over, wickets need to be taken when defending a paltry total of 140 or 160.
The expectation is on international players to produce the goods under intense pressure. The crowd, team owners, high-profile coaches and teammates put expectations on the players. Some get weighed down, while others relish such situations. It might be T20 cricket, but batsmen, bowlers and fielders learn how to combat the demands of a situation.
Mitchell Johnson emerged as a completely new bowler when his Mumbai Indians coach told him to “simply bowl as fast as you can and not worry about swinging the ball”. Steve Smith might have seen Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni manufacture perfect chases, but rarely had a chance of testing himself in Australian colours.
But playing in the IPL and batting lower down the order exposed him to such opportunities. Last year, Smith, along with James Faulkner and Shane Watson, finished two games for Rajasthan. The confidence he took from those innings were inflicted when he led Australia on a successful chase against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground despite the scoring rate rising around him.
In the 14 games Faulkner played for his IPL team, he tended to bowl at the death in the majority of the matches when the batsmen were trying to hammer him out of the park. It was match practice and the players were experiencing it.
No wonder Smith, Faulkner, David Warner, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Johnson and all the Indian players constantly perform under the pump. They are simply used to playing the high-intensity brand of cricket day in, day out. Each of their innings is watched by millions and the players learn to cope under pressure.
In the meantime, English players go through the grind of county T20 or domestic limited-over games hardly unnoticed by anyone in the World apart from the locals.
Playing in the IPL puts you under the scanner and players are so accustomed to the expectations that their minds don’t falter under pressure.
One has to wonder that if Jos Buttler or Joe Root had been placed under the constant scanner and had enough exposure of guiding run chases or expanding their games, then England would have cantered home.
The next World Cup is four years away but it’s time for ECB and the players to expose themselves in the tense pressure situations of the IPL.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
While a premature retirement isn’t the solution, he or England want, he may be forced into it if he can’t maintain a long run of matches.
England's chances of retaining the Twenty20 World Cup have been hit for six with the news Ben Stokes has opted out of selection for…
Bazball was developed as a strategy devised to use the resources efficiently rather than revolutionize the system.
England's tour of India has ended in abject fashion as the tourists were hammered by an innings and 64 runs inside three days, with…
India have bowled England out for a below-par 218 and cruised to 1-135 in reply to seize early control of the fifth and final…
India have accomplished a nervy run-chase to secure a five-wicket victory against England in the fourth cricket Test in Ranchi. Chasing a modest 192…
