England’s white-ball revolution under Trevor Bayliss has been a stunning philosophical shift in tactics. Underpinned by relentless aggression at the crease, the World Cup hosts have blown away every side at one stage or another since their dismal group-stage knockout at the 2015 World Cup.
Since that infamous loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide, Eoin Morgan’s side has won 14 of their last 18 ODI series.
They’ve defeated Australia 13 times in their last 16 encounters and posted 350-plus on 14 occasions, five more than the next best international side.
For some time they’ve been the best side in the world, successfully adopting a fearless approach to skill execution that has reaped rewards.
But despite their undeniable dominance, England are still yet to win a major ODI trophy. While they’ve shifted the goalposts on what is considered a big total – often embarrassing pundits’ views on a ‘par’ score – they have deservedly claimed the world’s No. 1 ranking and entertained the world with their clean striking.
In the end their trophy cabinet continues to gather dust. England need to win something in this golden era.
Their window of dominance needs a tangible reward.
In May 2015 England appointed former opener Andrew Strauss as its new director of cricket, a move that would prove monumental in their ensuing short-form success.
(AP Photo/Tim Hales)
He immediately cited the need to focus on ODI and T20 cricket.
“We’re a long way off the pace,” he said at the time. “Unless we focus on it, we will sleepwalk our way into the next (World Cup).”
He then oversaw the appointment of Bayliss, a move that has paid dividends in the short formats, all while Test progress has stagnated.
The pair set about creating a core group of specialists to separate the white-ball sides from the Test team. Morgan, Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett and (until recently) Adil Rashid have all been at the forefront of this reform.
Strauss then introduced white-ball only contracts and encouraged players to ply their trade in overseas T20 leagues where, as foreign players, they faced greater scrutiny.
And while the team has delivered under pressure on several occasions in the past four years, they also failed at arguably their two biggest moments.
In 2017 they looked on-track for Champions Trophy glory on home soil but fell to eventual winners Pakistan in the semi-finals on a dry Cardiff track. Morgan lamented that the pitch offered ‘no home advantage’.
Before that, at the 2016 T20 World Cup final, Carlos Brathwaite chased 19 off the final over to snatch victory for the Windies, leaving a gutted England in their wake.
Whether the hosts can finally deliver on the biggest stage – and at home, no less – is the question on everyone’s lips. Last summer they defeated their two biggest rivals for the upcoming World Cup, Australia and India, winning 5-0 and 2-1 respectively.
And while the Aussies’ fortunes have changed, as we well know, England are still very much in the driver’s seat. As such, the intense scrutiny on the favourites is apparent – and don’t they know it.
In an interview last week, Kevin Pietersen shone light on the immense expectations: “There’s a huge amount at stake,” he said on SEN.
“And I just feel sorry for the players. I saw an interview last week where some of the journalists started saying ‘this could be as good as 2005 if England win’. I see them building this team up to absolutely smash them if they lose … I hope they do well. But by crikey, if they don’t, it’s going to be a bloodbath.”
The hosts released their preliminary 15-man World Cup squad overnight, with few surprises. In Bairstow, Roy, Root, Morgan, Stokes and Buttler, England has the most fearsome top-six in the tournament.
Combined with the all-round skill of Moeen Ali, the spin of Rashid and the pace of Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and maybe even Joffra Archer (selection pending), they combine for a fearsome line-up.
The question remains, however, amid the considerable expectation of success: can they deliver their first international trophy on home soil?
JayG
Guest
On a complete road, nothing is safe but i would guess 370+
English twizz
Guest
They are going to have new pitches to use for semi and final
Spanner
Roar Rookie
Dont forget the old adage that stands the test of time - "bowlers win matches, batsmen save them". The team with the best performing bowling lineup will win the World Cup - simple as that !
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
SA squad announced and it's a very good one.
DTM
Guest
English fans will be hoping that the (inevitable) off day their batsmen have is in a round match rather than a knockout game. Imagine them going undefeated to the semis only to get bowled out for 120 by SA or India (or worse still, Aus)! They may need to lose one of their round matches to keep them on edge.
AREH
Roar Guru
As long as the all-out attack/total cricket approach etc thing doesn't bring them unstuck at the worst time - because it obviously won't always work. They could find themselves 5-60 just as easy as 5-380 for mine. If all things click though, I could see a deep batting line-up with such immense power going all the way at home.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
SA will target Stokes. They tend to pick on those who like to lose their cool. Davey Warner are you listening.
Paul
Roar Guru
so assuming Australia was playing at Old Trafford against this English attack, what would you consider to be a par score for the Aussies if they bat first, bearing in mind the comment you posted above, Jay? In other words, on a complete road, how many should our guys make against this attack?
JayG
Roar Rookie
I think England's bowling attack is under-rated and it might play into their hands. Rashid and Moeen are good at choking the opponents in the middle overs and troubled both the Aus side which toured last year and the Indian side which toured later. They don't have a high-quality fast bowler but that is likely to change when they include Jofra Archer. England'd bowling is weaker than their batting but that's just because their batting is so, so strong. Under-estimating England's bowling would be a mistake in my opinion.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Joshua, England cannot do more than they have in recent times at ODI level and that is to win series. That said, their performances, to an outsider, seem unbalanced. They play some outstanding cricket in some games and follow this up by some very ordinary cricket in others. The squad England has named is obviously very strong but totally predictable and this, to a degree, plays into the hands of other teams because sides know exactly what they're going to get, having been dealt the same method for the past 2 years. Teams are in a far better position now to combat England's methods, assuming your side doesn't self destruct with one of it's recent batting collapses. That said, it won't be easy for any team as the method your batsmen uses so effectively is obviously hard to counter. The reality of the 2017 Champions Trophy is what England needs to deal with if they're to win the Cup. In effect, England won that "series" pretty comfortably, but they lost the game that counted because of the knockout nature of the event. All sides making the finals have to reset and be able to refocus. If your boys can, they're a real chance to win. If not, as Pietersen said, it could be carnage.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
It’s a good place for SA to be. The favorite tag has not sat well with them in the past.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
South Africa are underdogs. They could get to the semi-finals. The thing is with this World Cup is that it is so competitive and 60% of the teams will be eliminated in the group stages so it is very difficult to predict what will happen come this summer.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
There is a lot of pressure here in England (and I certainly don't help). People expect England to win the World Cup because we're hosting it. Wembley is hosting England's group stage matches plus both semi-finals and the final of UEFA Euro 2020 and pundits are already predicting that England are favourites for that, despite the tournament not taking place for another 14 months! If we have a summer like we did last year (Australians may say that 30°C is not a summer heatwave but it is to us), then there will be huge totals in the first innings and England will do well. England are good at home anyway and the terrible performance in the semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy against Pakistan is just one blip on a good picture overall.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
England's opening game is against South Africa whom few are giving much chance despite the fact that they have won 11 of their last 13 odi series. Have a few match winners in the side. Rabada is red hot right now. If their batsmen can give the bowlers something to defend watch out.
The Bush
Roar Guru
It's not just the fact that they could collapse, like any team, it's that they don't have a well rounded bowling line up, meaning they can't come back from that. Dispensing with all the pleasantries for a moment, and acknowledging them as the No 1 side, bowlers are the key to consistently winning cricket matches and well rounded teams win tournaments, not one-dimensional outfits (no matter how damn good that one dimension is).
Ouch
Roar Rookie
This is the first line of the cricketing article in The Guardian today; On Sunday July 14, Eoin Morgan will hoist the glittering World Cup trophy high above his head at Lords (preferably in fading light, the enduring image is better),
Andre Leslie
Roar Guru
Some telling stats at the top. It certainly is clear that the English are in a purple patch at the moment.
Targa
Guest
Don't forget the South Africans. They've got the best bowling attack in the tournament, but just need De Kock, Amla, Faf and Miller to fire as they have don't have great allrounders.
Paul
Roar Guru
or if the balls hoops around a bit, David, as was the case with Pakistan in that Final in 2017.
Paul
Roar Guru
I wouldn't discount the Kiwis or Pakistan, both have a habit of lifting for these big tournaments