Watching England play 50 over cricket for much of the last 20 years has been like watching your nan trying to work out how to use an iPad. For decades the English have been stuck in the past, failing to adapt to the innovations of the modern game.
At the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the English ODI team reached a new low. Humbled by New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia and finally Bangladesh the English crashed out of the tournament at the group stages.
Since then things have been very different as England have put together one of the most destructive sides in the world.
The host nation kicked of their ICC Champions trophy with a comfortable 8-wicket victory over Bangladesh at the Oval in south London.
Bangladesh came into the game having won 4 of their previous 7 ODIs against England and would have felt good about their chances towards the end of their innings.
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A 166-run partnership between opener Tamim Iqbal and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim had the Tigers well placed to post a total well in excess of 300. However Iqbal was caught for a sparkling 128 and Mushfiqur followed off the very next ball for 78.
Bangladesh’s eventual total of 305-6 always seemed below par but despite their new found aggression England have only chased down 300+ four times in their entire history. With the sight of 300 on the board turning legs to custard and brains into crumble.
England’s pursuit didn’t get off to a great start with Jason Roy – short of runs recently – holing out to short fine leg for just 1. However, from then on in it was plain sailing for the hosts as partnerships of 159 between Alex Hales and Joe Root and then 143 between Root and captain Eoin Morgan saw the hosts home comfortably.
Root in particular was outstanding as he combined measured accumulation with brutal aggression in a match winning 133 not out. Hales too was impressive with a typically belligerent 95 and Morgan continued his fine form with a rapid 75 off just 61 balls.
On a flat surface that was excellent for batting the Bangladesh attack looked utterly toothless in the face of England’s superb batting. In a tournament that looks set to be dominated by the bat the teams which can take wickets at crucial times will have a huge advantage. Unfortunately for the Bangladeshi’s they never looked like doing so today.
For England this was exactly the start they needed to a tournament in which they are heavily favoured. With tougher tests to come against the Aussies and New Zealand a win today was absolutely crucial.
The only negative for England was an injury to all-rounder Chris Woakes. Woakes only bowled two overs before leaving the field with a side strain. The Warwickshire all-rounder has been a key cog in the England machine and his wicket taking ability will be missed if he sits out a significant period of time.
The ICC Champions trophy continues tomorrow with Australia against New Zealand at Edgbaston.
Degsy
Guest
Finn has been called up
George
Guest
Not a patch on Ronan's fabled 'gun' Australian attack.
John
Guest
so you reckon australian attack is not useless? Australian bowlers were serving high velocity pies to kiwi batsmen yesterday, even ronchi madec a mess of the bowling lineup england much better team at the moment than Australia and i am not english
James
Guest
So Englands bowlers are useless because they concede 305 yet Australia has the best bowling line up conceding 291 that included a monumental collapse. Got it. No one eyed jingoism from you.
AREH
Roar Guru
Yep, hurts them dramatically..not sure off the top of my head who they have in the squad as cover, but I can't imagine they'd be a very notable quick..
Tapeshwer Singh
Guest
Thiey were knocked over for 84 last warmup,but yes they do have a batting lineup thats good enough ,but pakistan and sl are just as good.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
BrainsTrust even the English players admit they were behind the times with their ODI tactics for many years. They picked too many conservative batsmen in the same XI like Cook, Trott and Bell with too few dynamic batsmen. They were still aiming for totals of around 270 - 280 up until the last World Cup while the likes of Aus, SA and India were aiming 50runs higher. After that World Cup they overhauled their selections and strategies and have become the most aggressive batting team in ODIs.
Brasstax
Guest
On current form if all 3 teams play 10 ODIs in a row, I will back the Bangladeshi batsmen to aggregate more than the Pakis and Sri Lankan batsmen.
Brasstax
Guest
"But it is a worry for them to be conceding 305 against arguably the weakest batting lineup in the whole tournament" I have to respectfully disagree with that statement Ronan. I think SL and Pakistan have the weakest batting line ups of the 8 teams in this tournament combining skill, form and consistency over a period of time in ODI cricket. Bangladesh have transformed amazingly into a very good ODI team over the past 2 years and while they do have good tweakers, their batting is also quite consistent.
BrainsTrust
Guest
England apart from 1979 when Boycott and the supposed tactical genius Brearley played out 40 over at snails pace chasing a big total. I wouldn;t say England have been behind the times, maybe the reverse with Gatting blowing the 87 world cup with a T20 move in the reverse sweep. They have a bigger quantity of capable aggresive and big hitting batsman in this team than they have had before.
brent elms
Guest
England won't get out of their group if they bowl like this, absolute cannon fodder
Ouch
Guest
The English bowling was average at best and it looks like they have lost Woakes for the tournament - arguably their best ODI bowler.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
England batted really well, which is not surprising given their strong batting lineup. But it is a worry for them to be conceding 305 against arguably the weakest batting lineup in the whole tournament. England cannot afford to have a single slip-up with the bat in this tournament because their attack is not strong enough to win them a match if the batting falters, unlike SA, Australia and India.