Defending champs were a jaded team playing a brand of cricket that was in stark contrast to their delusional rhetoric; they have confused Tests with ODI cricket
England players during their match v Australia. Pic/Getty Images
India have much to learn from England’s fall from grace. World Cup cycles span four years and time stands still for no man. India have to ensure they have fresh talent that they are prepared to call on when 2027 comes around.
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England lacked the courage (or the depth) to renew their 2019 squad. Their ignominious exit came as no surprise. This was a jaded team playing a brand of cricket that was in stark contrast to their delusional rhetoric.
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The great irony is that England have confused Tests with ODI cricket. In the recent Ashes, there were times when they needed less Bazball and more caution. In recent ODIs, they chose timidity over temerity, fear of failure dominating flair and flamboyance.
Top-order lacking class
The England top-order quite simply lack the skill and craftsmanship that is required to play on the sub-continent. In that chase against Australia, with dew imminent and the ball likely to skid on, England just lacked the finesse to tick the strike over and keep the run-rate under control. The sheer number of dot balls was telling. Contrast that to craftsmen like Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith…when they’re not hitting boundaries, their ability to manoeuvre the ball into gaps with minimum risk forces the bowler to try something different which then opens up more lucrative options. England’s tactics were bizarre—they just dotted up and waited for a release shot. All-too-often that ended in a lofted catch into the outfield.
Even the selections were unfathomable. They keep talking up Harry Brook as the next big thing, but they didn’t trust him when it mattered. It doesn’t speak volumes for their huge investments in academies and England A tours if they still resort to the sanctuary of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, a barely-fit Ben Stokes, an out-of-form Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali who has always been a lightweight under pressure. What message does that give to the youngsters coming through domestic cricket? That when an opportunity presents itself, like it did in the Ashes, you go back to the retirement village and recruit someone like Moeen who has never performed against Australia?
Where are the likes of Shubman Gill, Rachin Ravindra, Iyer or Sadeera Samarawickrama to showcase the next generation? Brook was trumpeted as being England’s answer, but they didn’t believe in their own hyperbole when it mattered. And if you are going to recycle tried and tested old men, the least you can do is ensure they are still fit and hungry. Kohli, Williamson, Quinton de Kock, David Warner and even Rohit Sharma look fit, fast and focussed. A far cry from England’s Dad’s Army squad who never looked like they were prepared for this rigorous odyssey.
Tactical mishaps
Their lack of tactical nous belied their experience. Root must have known that he would be targeted on fourth stump, trying to nibble to third man. Buttler was an instant match-up against Adam Zampa and he fell for it. And Stokes was simply not fit enough to sustain another miracle. India’s legends are unlikely to be victims of their own hubris. England’s exit mirror their colonial history—no moral victories here, just a bunch of old men who couldn’t recognise their time in India was well and truly up!
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