England's One Day Team

[Museshrimper]

What is wrong with them recently? We dont look like beating anybody. We have the experienced players at the top and then the new-blood in lower the order, but the experienced players keep flopping with the bat. 171-7 off 42 overs, losing 3 wickets in the past 9 balls.

Why are we so poor at this form of the game?

[Museshrimper]

Now 173-9.. http://www.shrimperzone.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[The General]

202 all out.

[Hong Kong Blue]

England are tactically naive at one-day cricket. That combined with a lack of quality one-day players is a horrible combination.

If you pick up Trescothick and Pietersen early then its as good as all over.

England have no idea how to pace an innings. They front-load their batting line-up with all their big guns who then go out all guns blazing and get out, leaving the lesser batsmen to scratch around. What makes Trescothick and Pietersen good one-day players isn't just their ability to hit boundaries, its the way that they rotate the strike. trescothick generally goes after everything when the field is back and then when there are men back on the ropes he milks the singles. Someone like Bell doesn't work the gaps and rotate the strike enough and everyone will say how well he batted, but his strike-rate was still only 75 runs/100 balls, which equates to about 225 off 50 overs and you aren't going to beat many teams if you can only score 225. A slow run-rate is excusable when you start your innings as you need to play yourself in, but once you are in you need to score at a run a ball in order to be competitive. In particular England are dire at working the part-time spinners - hafeez bowled 10 overs for 30 odd!

Duncan Fletcher has done a fantastic job as test coach but I really think England would benefit from a fresh approach in one-day cricket. England are formulaic and its not even a particularly good formula that they are using. What other country in the world bats all its specialist batsman as no.s 1-4, except if the pitch is an absolute road? England's lack of batting depth is partially because our bowler's can't bat, but its also partly because we should promote someone whose wicket is more expendable up the order. With specialist batsmen still to come that provides a licence for all-rounders to go and play their shots. Look at how Essex promote Gough to have a slog, and that is from a team that bats down to no.11. Just as importantly see how Essex hold Andy Flower their best player of spin back, until the spinners are operating. Irani who likes to hit over the top and can be a bit dodgy against spin opens so he can capitalise on the fielding restrictions and can have a go at the seamers, Foster is being developed as a closer etc etc

[number11]

Is strange that we are so poor when we do play plenty of domestic stuff. The 20Twenty should have helped the batters but unfortunately hardly any of our team play in that competition. WE have gone down the road before of 'specialist' one-day players, but that didnt work, and we have now gone back to basing the one day team around the core of test players but that isnt working.

With the runs scored in tests recently, a line up of Tres Strauss, Bell, Pieterson, Flintoff Collingwood, should be as good as a top 6 in the world, but I personally would prefer to see a pinch hitter at the top get us off to a flyer, and if he goes cheap then Strauss comes in and settles things. At the moment Tres and Strauss chip along at a slow to average pace, one of them gets out, and it puts pressure on the number 3 to avoid further loss of wickets but up the run rate.

Bell did a good job yesterday and could be ideal as the anchor to the innings, but it needs a Flintoff, Tres or Pieterson to blaze away alongside them.

Im not convinced playing a domestic one day specialist such a Loye or Maddy will strengthen the batting but if they are to be given a go it has to be soon with the world cup 6 months away.

Id be equally worried with the bowlers to be honest, so if England can sort their batting and bowling out we will be fine.

[Shrimper2thecore]

It a serious problem, you only have to look at the points table to see the terrible position we are in, we are only above the sh!t teams (no offence to ZIM, BAN and KEN), which really does not bode well for the world cup. We just dont look like winning games!

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