One-Day shambles a far cry from Ashes win
FOR all the meticulous organisation that went into England regaining the Ashes in the recent Tests, it strikes me that we are playing this one-day series on a wing and a prayer. Sadly, we are a shambles right now.
For years now I have advocated the need to employ different set-ups for each form of cricket – new separate selectors, coaches and captains for each format. England’s performances in the two one-dayers of the seven-match series so far only emphasise that point further.
Take the powerplay issue at Lord’s on Sunday. For some reason it took until the 44th over for it to be enforced by which time Paul Collingwood was scrapping for runs with only the tail for company. A powerplay should be used when both batsman have played themselves in and looking for quick runs. Not enforcing it in the middle order when we still had wickets in hand smacked of bad organisation.
England have a chance to put those wrongs right today, however, in the third one-dayer at the Rose Bowl.
Changes will undoubtedly be made from the disappointment at Lord’s and, for me, Adil Rashid simply has to be recalled. Adil showed in the first game at The Oval just what a talented all-round cricketer he is, while giving England much-needed balance, especially in the absence of the injured Stuart Broad.