Planning for the next 50 over world cup

England were in a fortunate position in 2019 with so many of their players in their peak years. Of the squad England selected for the successful home tournament, only Archer, Tom Curran (both 24) and Liam Plunkett (age 34) weren't between the ages of the of 27 and 32. Most of the 2019 batsmen should make the next iteration of the competition although they may be starting to feel their ages. Especially in the field it may be an issue, even if the likes of Buttler, Bairstow, Root, Roy and Stokes are excellent athletes. Archer is the only one of the bowlers who you'd definitely back to still be around in 4 years time.

Let's assume that Bairstow, Roy, Root, Buttler, Stokes and Archer are the 6 names that will be pencilled in for the next competition. That leaves 9 spots to compete for in the next 3.5 years.

The World cup will be in India in 2023 and that will provide a great challenge to England. The current spin bowling stocks are poor, and the batting will likely be severely tested by spin from Asian teams looking to neuter England's attacking batsmen. That being said the fundamentals should be there. With the IPL there can be no excuse of lack of experience in the conditions, with Buttler and Bairstow in recent years having standout spells in the IPL. At present you'd have to say that England would be joint second favourites with Australia; behind the behemoth that is India in their own conditions.

Tom Banton and Ollie Pope look the likeliest of the young batsman to break through in that time. Banton, little more than a year into his professional career, is making huge strides already and looks a brilliant talent. He's been often compared to Kevin Pietersen and that is an apt characterisation due to the similarity in strokeplay, but there also shades of Jos Buttler in his ability to hit 360 degrees. Pope has made his way into the test side but the ODI side will be an entirely different issue in the short term given the strength of the batting. However if Pope finds himself averaging 40+ in test cricket then he will be hard to look past, with his solid allround game and accumulation qualities adding steel to the English batting that is likely to be severely tested by spin.

The thing with the omnipresence of domestic t20 leagues is that it means there are bountiful opportunities for young batsmen and bowlers to enhance their games. Currently in the Big Bash uncapped batsman Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone are gaining valuable experience of foreign climes, whilst dealing with the pressures of being overseas players. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise if someone came in from the wilderness on the back of performances in overseas domestic t20 competitions.

Will Eoin Morgan make it at the age of 37 to this world cup? Probably not. He has struggled in India before and it doesn't seem likely that he will stagger to a 5th world cup given his clinical thinking. His captaincy will be much missed and possibly his left handedness in a top order of mainly right handed batsman. Buttler I would favour as captain in Morgan's absence.

Batsmen - Roy, Bairstow, Root, Buttler, Stokes, Pope, Banton

Fast bowling rather like the test team after Broad and Anderson, remains a wide open affair. Jofra Archer as I've already written should be a pivotal player but you'd struggle to predict any others with any certainty. From current England players Woakes, Wood, and Jordan have concerns about their longevity given their ages and/or injury records, with Woakes hopefully still around due to his allround skills. Tom Curran's lower order batting has been improving but the bowling remains average. Whilst he has plenty of changeups he can be expensive and probably lacks a shade of pace at present. He may be competing for a spot with Chris Woakes. Olly Stone seems continuously injured and has struggled to date in the shorter formats so he seems unlikely. Of Saqib Mahmood I have high expectations and he should be an asset in India (assuming he gets a visa) due to his ability to drop the front arm and get reverse swing from a slingy action. A skilled operator last year he began to find real consistency in his new ball bowling where he stands higher and hit back of a length and caused lots of issues for batsman whilst becoming the top wickettaker in the RL cup of 2019. The rank outsider I'd consider a possibility is Matt Fisher. He's been plagued by injuries since breaking onto the scene as a developed 16 year old, but he remains one of England's best prospects. Sam Curran's utility to the side is at present in a stage of flux. Is he an opening bowler? Will he become a batting allrounder? That being said England would like a left arm bowling option and the combative Curran is well placed to offer that option.

Fast Bowling - Archer, Woakes, T Curran, S Mahmood, Fisher, S Curran
 
Moeen will be 35 by the time the cup comes around and for England's best chance of success lets hope that Moeen remains around the setup and performing. He offers a top 7 batting option and a defensive spin bowling role that he performs decently. The other offspinning and/or batting spinner options are less obvious right now and for that reason Moeen remains the likely choice. The legspinner option(s) are more open with Rashid, Parkinson, Crane, Sowter all offering useful qualities at present, and with the prevalence of T20 cricket still increasing other options may also become available. Liam Dawson may creep in as the third spinner instead of a fast bowler.


SQUAD - Roy, Bairstow, Root, Buttler, Stokes, Pope, Banton, Archer, Woakes, S Mahmood, Fisher, S Curran, Ali, Rashid, Dawson/T Curran

As to the makeup of the final xi

Banton, Bairstow, Root, Pope, Stokes, Buttler (WK/Cap), Ali, Woakes, Rashid, Archer, Mahmood

The makeup of the fictional side was tricky to decide upon. Banton is a special talent and I think in time he will get a chance and succeed. He's already shown good quality against spin in domestic t10 and t20 leagues overseas, and looks more comfortable playing it than Roy. Bairstow could be used as an opener or in the middle order but I think given his current record as opener, England will be reluctant to move him to the middle order, even if it frees up a spot for another destructive opener in Roy.

Root and Pope offer quality batsmanship in the middle order and will hopefully run teams ragged with their efficient accumulation of runs through the early middle parts of the innings. I'd like to see Buttler bat higher, preferably at 5. He could be one of the all time greats and have an even greater impact on England's fortunes from 5. However in the interests of balancing the right and left handers in the middle order, and giving Buttler sufficient rest time as captain and wicketkeeper, by 2023 I can see him back at 6 even if he bats 5 for some time in the intervening 3 years.

There must be at least some concern about the long term of fitness of Ben Stokes. He will only be 31 by the time the world cup comes around but his style of cricket is very punishing on the body. If he can't bowl by this point in time I'm not sure he'll be good enough to get in the side as a batsman alone. In this case they could replace Stokes in the team with a Roy, shuffle Bairstow into the middle order, and utilise Root as the 6th bowler and 3rd spinner; or consider another spin bowling allrounder.

Winter Tours of 2019/20

Test Squad for New Zealand

I don't forsee much resting of players for this series even if the series doesn't count for the world test championship. The test only players should be there without doubt, there is no reason to rest the likes of Anderson or Broad if they are fit. The multi format players have to be looked after more and will have to be rested at times. Root and Stokes are too vital to the test side at present so they will have to miss odis and T20s in the next year but should play all tests. Moeen has taken a break from test cricket and Jonny Bairstow may have to join him. Bairstow's performances have been poor over the last 3 years and whilst he might not like it may need a dropping (or resting) to help him refresh and refocus on his game.

The biggest issue is likely to be the backup bowlers. Wood, Stone and Anderson are likely to be unavailable due to injury and with Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer needing theire workloads monitored it leads England short of resources. The Somerset trio of Craig and Jamie Overton, and Lewis Gregory may well all gain selection with Woakes rested if Anderson is fit enough to travel.

Burns
Sibley
Denly
Root
Stokes
Pope
Buttler
Archer
Broad
Anderson
Leach

Vince
S Curran
B Foakes
C Overton
L Gregory
J Overton

Sibley - Deserves his chance on the weight of runs. Bats a long time when he gets in. As good a time as any to have an obscure technique, especially a leg side dominant one.
Denly - He's still a stopgap as seen by not getting a test central contract but they are better of going with his experience rather than blooding a youngster like Crawley who probably isn't ready.
Pope - Continues to rack up the runs. Is a brilliant talent who clearly picks up the length of the ball early and is especially strong through the leg side, he does remain quite loose outside the offstump. For this reason he should be protected at number 6 and allowed to develop in time and move up the order. The likes of Buttler and Bairstow have had the luxury of batting 6 and 7 in recent times but they haven't backed up the protection they get from the new ball with sufficient runs, it should now be time to invest in the best of the next generation.



Lions Squad 

Zak Crawley, Chris Dent, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sam Hain, Tom Abell, Joe Clarke, Dan Lawrence, Tom Banton, Luke Wood, Matt Fisher, David Payne, Henry Brookes, Saqib Mahmood, Amir Virdi, Tom Bailey, Dom Bess, Matt Carter

Crawley – Pretty close to a full callup in my book even with his modest record but an average end of season and Joe Denly’s good efforts means he should go on the lions. A tall upright classical batsman Crawley now really hits the ball cleanly. Plays some delicious straight drives with seemingly little effort that race to the boundary. Strong all around the ground with a good pull/hook shot too. Catches swallows in the slips.

Kohler-Cadmore - The tall upright classical batsman has the qualities to play international cricket. He strikes the ball cleanly in the v and rather like Zac Crawley is quick onto the short ball.  At age 25 he should be maturing and ready for some more high level cricket.

Dent - What Rory Burns has proven is that grinding it out in county cricket may not be a bad thing. Whilst Burns (and Dent) may not be able to average 40 opening the batting for England as they have looked for in the past, they may well be more adaptable and skilled than the ODI type selections England have used in the last few years such as Jason Roy, Alex Hales, and Moeen Ali. Dent has a career average of 38 and at age 28 is now reaching his peak so it may well be worth England having a look at one of the more consistent performers on the county circuit.

Hain – Solid season again and with England maybe moving away from the ODI chancer and moving across to the accumulator for test cricket Hain will come into the consideration. Needs to score more consistently at county level like his clubmate Sibley to grab the attention. A well organised batsman though who at 24 should still have plenty of improvement to come and could benefit from some high level cricket.

Abell – Fairly moderate career averages (averages 31 with the bat in all 3 formats) means Abell doesn’t immediately stand out but more than anything it’s his impressive captaincy of Somerset that marks Abell out. He is only 25 and has had his most influential season as a batsman this year as Somerset challenged on all 3 fronts. Plays spin especially well, has added power and variation to his shorter format games, and is one of the fittest players in the county game. He doesn’t quite have the skill yet for international cricket but what he does have is the work ethic and character to be an international cricketer, more work on his game with quality coaching can only do.

Clarke - Has had a terrible season until this past week or so. In term of international potential though I'd still put Clarke towards the top of the uncapped players around the English game. Strong of the back foot, and through the leg side he can score runs of good pace bowling. He still vulnerable to the ball moving into him from the seamers, and is an average player of spin due to his hard hands.

 

Lawrence – Has matured into one of Essex’s key batsman this season in all formats and has scored some key runs across the season. He is leg side dominant and can be an lbw candidate but the game looks in good shape right now and he is scoring more runs in the v rather than through square leg.

Banton – His innings in the 20 and 50 over competitions have caught the eye but he has also shown maturity and understanding of how to build an innings in championship cricket. One of the comparisons he often has is to Jason Roy (the other is Kevin Pietersen), and already in championship cricket he seems more capable of playing the ball later and is less vulnerable to movement than Roy which is pleasing to see.

Luke Wood – Sam Curran caused Steve Smith more issues than most in his one ashes test and illustrated the point that England should keep looking for variation in their test bowling attack. With Curran’s height and lack of pace he may well struggle in Australia and with that in mind I’ve been looking at left arm options. Wood whilst in and out of the Nottinghamshire side is starting to put together more consistent cricket and at 24 should now be coming towards his peak years. He offers a little more pace than Curran but with the swing included. He’s a useful lower order bat and good athlete in the field so these are the kind of multi-dimensional cricketers that England should be looking at to improve.

Fisher – Has struggled with injury since bursting onto the scene with England u19s as a 16 year old fast bowling prodigy. Needs game time now and at 21 should have grown into his body enough. I would think he will be playing for England within 3 years and as such could do with a lions tour to broaden his experiences even if his first class statistics to date are nothing to write home about.

Payne – Probably the best 3 format left armer in the county game currently. Has slaved away at Gloucestershire over the years but now is a quality leader of the bowling attack across the 3 formats. He has added a bit of pace so he’s now in the early to mid 80s bracket and has more height on his side than other left arm options such as Wood, Curran and Willey. At 28 he is at his peak and it might be worth England having a look. They may be surprised at the quality he does possess.

Henry Brookes – Has bowled on some pretty flat tracks for Warwickshire this season which is good for his long term development. A decent action which can get speeds upto 90mph means he is someone with England potential and is also a useful batsman in the lower order.

Saqib Mahmood - Again impressive in one day cricket where he has added consistency at the start of the innings to his skills at the backend. Hasn't always played in 4 day cricket this year for Lancashire but is a more reliable performer than last and his skills (low arm, skiddy pace) will be an attribute in foreign climbs.

Virdi – Spins the ball prodigiously. Has had issues this year with poor fitness and losing his action on occasion but looks the classiest of the spinners coming through. When he gets it right he looks a real handful. Career could still go either way

Tom Bailey – The top wickettaker in division 1 in 2018 has backed it up in 2019. Bailey is quick enough these days at early to mid 80s mph and has backed it up over a few seasons. 

Dom Bess - With Moeen Ali taking a break from test cricket England need to be active in their pursuit of spin bowling options and Bess is a multidimensional cricketer who is always working on his game.

Matt Carter- Has been excellent in white ball cricket this year for Notts with his tall offspin. England are lacking conventional offspin options in the shorter formats. Isn't a great fielder or batsman so could do with working on these skills if he wants to challenge for international honours in the future.

What I’ve tried to look for in these players more than just peformances in county cricket is the possibility that they can step up to international cricket. For this reason I have looked for players strong in character, work ethic, fitness, and who offer multidimensional skills.

Rumblings and Ramblings

England hindered themselves straight off the bat on this West Indies tour with their selection in the first test. Granted it can happen that you misread a pitch. England certainly did but even so their team selection was weird. If they thought it was going to be a slow turner selecting Rashid as the second spinner, rather than Leach, was misguided given Rashid has basically been used for bowling at the tail, and Root seems unwilling to trust him. An attack of Anderson, Curran, Stokes, Ali and Rashid just put too much emphasis on Anderson and Stokes, two guys you really want to be looking after.

Olly Stone was injured before the tests got underway which was a shame given he would have been useful on a lot of these wickets getting bounce and movement. He hits the pitch hard and would have found the up and down bounce more than Anderson and Curran did. He probably wouldn't have played though judging by the team selections. It still feels like a missed opportunity to have not played him in that final test in Sri Lanka, especially when you consider that Broad, who did play in SL, was then dropped for the first test in the West Indies. 

The return of Keaton Jennings for the third test was a cruel gesture by the England management. After being dropped after the first test, he and they surely thought his tour was over. He spent most of the time in the second test substitute fielding at short leg, and it possibly wasn’t until a couple of days before the third test that he would have became an option for selection. There would have been very little time to work on his game, or to attune his mind to the task ahead. Why was he considered for selection? Probably because they no longer wanted to bat Bairstow at 3, and Root was once again reluctant to move up to 3 – and so they stuck a guy who was struggling back in to open. Too often Root has moved others to make his life easier. As captain, and the best player it makes sense to a degree to make him happy, and it’s his prerogative as captain to make that decision. Still using Balance at 3 (who bats below Root at Yorkshire), Ali at 3, Stokes at 3, Pope at 4, bringing Jennings back; none of these things were likely to be successes. Whilst most would appreciate the chance of playing for England and be accepting of the opportunity, many of these haven’t been given the best chance of success. 

Bairstow looked particularly cheery this game having got his way back batting at his favoured 7. 3 tests of decent success and he’s dropped back down. Really you must ask what was the point? It’s tough putting the team together with the lack of top order options but the team selection over this series was especially troubling.