Team England 2012

For England 2012 will be a busy year with 15 tests and countless ODI’s and a T20 World Cup; there is likely to be no letup for anyone in the England setup. In terms of the national following of the game, Cricket will be overshadowed by the Olympics and Euro 2012 which is quite disappointing given the successes of the current England cricket team and the challenges that lie ahead in the next 12 months.

Test Series’ against South Africa at home and away against India are as appealing as it gets in the current international climate. South Africa are England’s closest competitors for the no.1 test spot and in Dale Steyn have the  clear star bowler in international cricket at present; he will be looking to improve on his average performances against England so far in his career.  England will likely be too strong in home conditions and South African’s mental problems are likely to continue to hold them back from being the dominant team in international cricket.

India will be a completely different task entirely and may well be the defining moment in how this England team goes down in history. Win and they will be worthy outright No.1 team in the world and potentially the greatest English test team ever, lose and they’re a very good team but one who couldn’t quite dominate every frontier. India are in decline and who knows what state their veterans will be in 11 months time but at home they are as strong as it gets and England have struggled for ever in the subcontinent. I fear it may be a touch too much for England to win in India but I just hope for an exciting series that invigorates cricket.

Before all of this of course, England travel to UAE to face Pakistan in what is likely to be a strong guider to their chances of success in India later in the year. Pakistan are an improving force and seem to be more settled but the pitches in the UAE are flat and the cricket can be boring. Expect England to grind down the Pakistani’s and come out with a 1-0 victory. Pakistan may sneak a test if Saeed Ajmal fires whilst the England batting combusts in a mad session late in a game but otherwise Pakistan lack the firepower in both batting and bowling to really worry England.

Whereas the test cricket this year is likely to be riveting and competitive with the best teams playing, the ODI cricket surely will be another year of rebuilding for the England team. After a poor World Cup, 2011 was an up and down year. Winning consistently at home but getting thrashed away from home, thankfully the next world cup is in Australia where conditions are more suited to England than most other places. There is need for experimentation and a clear plan of attack for a team that is laughed at for their poor performances in ODI cricket. It is probably time for some of the test regulars of Bell, Trott and Anderson to make way in ODI cricket and give sustained runs in the side to Taylor, Stokes and Bairstow amongst others. There are an exciting list of players who should and could flourish in ODI cricket but they need to be given the experience before the World Cup comes around in 2015.

Predictions: Who Knows but England are strong in test cricket and I fancy them to win 4/5 series they play and remain firmly the best test nation in the world. ODI cricket will again be a transition period and I don’t expect England to repeat their Twenty20 2010 success in Sri Lanka as they will surely struggle on the lowing bouncing wickets.