For all the talk of a new era for England’s white-ball teams under the stewardship of Brendon McCullum, the latest defeat by India was reminiscent of a bygone age when failing at major tournaments was par for the course.
I am not talking about the ill-fated reign of previous coach Matthew Mott, although a heavy defeat on Indian soil was very much the Australian’s calling card during the calamitous 2023 50-over World Cup.
No, this tame loss, with an England team struggling to post even 250 and a one-dimensional bowling attack lacking the cutting edge to wrestle the game back, was more akin to the dark ages of Peter Moores, the coach who oversaw the 2015 World Cup debacle in Australia and New Zealand.
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Read MoreThat was a campaign so bad, it sparked the white-ball revolution under captain Eoin Morgan that ultimately led to glory in the next tournament on home soil four years later.
Radical changes in personnel and mentality were needed to shake up England’s culture of failure a decade ago. It worked. But in the two-and-a-half years since Morgan’s retirement, the white-ball set-up has regressed so badly it is obvious that there will be no quick path back to the promised land.
Indeed, although this defeat in Nagpur was only by four wickets, that India knocked off their target of 249 with 11.2 overs to spare was a better reflection of how bad this England performance was.
When he started the job last month, McCullum was meant to offer positive change after two years of failure. Change may be afoot, yet his famous front-foot philosophy that is meant to give players the freedom to play their best cricket has yet to land. It may take time for the message to sink in.
But given the alignment now between the white-ball and Test set-ups – greater than at any time since 2015 – surely things should have started better than they have in India?
After losing the T20 series 4-1, progress needed to be shown in this opening ODI.
There were reasons for positivity. Both Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood started excellently as the hosts were reduced to 19 for 2 in the chase. Adil Rashid was his reliable self.
In terms of the batting, openers Phil Salt and Ben Duckett started well before the run out of the former sparked a collapse of 3 for 2. Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell hung in to post half-centuries that threatened a comeback.
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Read MoreBut after that mini-collapse, the batting was too passive. Under Morgan’s captaincy, England would have counterattacked aggressively way before the midpoint of the innings. Sometimes it saw them bowled out cheaply.
More often than not, though, they recovered from precarious situations to post competitive totals.
This batting effort had too many players caught between two stools – struggling to choose between defence and attack.
The “no-limits” mantra of Morgan’s England has disappeared and McCullum’s message is either not being heard or is perhaps outdated given he has not been a white-ball coach since early 2022
The thinking in terms of the bowling looks flawed too. The emphasis on quick bowlers who, in McCullum’s words, “bowl rockets” is the main reason why the attack looks so one-dimensional. Archer is England’s best quick bowler in white-ball cricket, no question.
Saqib looks full of promise but is raw. Brydon Carse has been excellent all winter, but this was a match too far for him, evidenced by figures of 0 for 52 from his five overs. When you pick three right-arm quicks, at least one is going to be picked off on a good batting surface.
Variety needs to be injected into the attack. Left-armer Reece Topley, one of the few successes from both of England’s failed ODI and T20 World Cup campaigns of 2023 and 2024, should be in this squad. A second frontline spinner – Rehan Ahmed is in the squad – would also be helpful on subcontinental pitches.
It was just all too predictable, especially when defending such a low total. Things may well pick up ahead of the Champions Trophy later this month. McCullum shouldn’t be underestimated.
Yet on the evidence of his white-ball reign so far, this England team looks set for a tough few weeks in India and Pakistan.
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