EnglandThe winter of ‘s ended with a whimper when they were defeated by a weak side 3-0 in Bangladesh in their first T20 series as world champions.
Here’s a look at what lies ahead.
What went wrong in the end?
Britain fell to the bare bones with only 13 people to call following the shooting of Tom Abell and Will Jacks. They decided not to overpower their shot and put their players on the deep end, thinking that any short-term pain would be worth it in the long run. It’s also worth remembering that Bangladesh could be ninth, seven places behind England in the T20s, but is adept on its own terms. However, England hit their primary goal with a 2-1 ODI series win.
Why was the main goal to win the ODI series?
With more than 50 World Cup titles defended in neighboring India late this year, this was a good chance for England to experience the slow and low gates of the subcontinent. India will have plenty of these, but there will also be flatter, more dough-friendly surfaces. This was still a useful experiment, because Jofra Archer and Mark Wood has shown that they can distract batters on even the sluggish tracks, Adil Rashid remains one of the best spinners in the world, while Jason Roy and Dawid Malan have been under pressure for centuries to increase their chances of getting a spot in England’s 15-man India squad. .
What’s next?
For UK limiteds: nothing until September. In the last six months, England have played nine ODIs and 20 T20s – winning the World Cup in November – but the Indian Premier League will take April and May before turning the attention to the highly anticipated Ashes series. It won’t be until the end of summer that the UK gets back on track. Indeed, they probably only have one ODI on September 8 against New Zealand before revealing their squad for the World Cup, which should start in mid-October.
Will that leave them a little unprepared?
probably. England white ball manager Matthew Mott last week, he said he sympathized with the executives who tried to squeeze everything into the season’s most important windows. But while international white ball cricket isn’t on the horizon, those hoping to claim the World Cup can do so in a variety of local T20 franchise leagues. In Indian conditions, IPL in particular will be watched closely to see if everyone on the sidelines can make consistent, match-winning shows.
For now, who are the possible children?
Mott struggled to emphasize last week that there was still a lot of time between today and doomsday, as injuries could shift the balance of the group. If everyone’s in shape, captain Jos Buttler will likely be joined by those who earned a historic title in 2019 on Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Archer, Wood and Rashid. It will be hard to leave out Malan, Sam Curran, and Harry Brook, and Mott recently gushed about Liam Livingstone’s versatile qualities. This leaves only a few places where stitching and tightening is likely to be supported. Still, the best-laid plans could fly out the window if Ben Stokes comes out of ODI retirement. England hasn’t set a time limit for the all-rounder, so any decision can probably wait until after the Ashes.