Whither England?

What to make of England? This is not the abject capitulation of recent World Cups since they have shown what they are capable of in their performances against India and South Africa, yet they stand a very real chance of being eliminated at the group stage.

Without wishing to make too many excuses, they look exhausted. Their pre-World Cup schedule will be different in 2015, but that will be too late for a number of these players who have been away from home, playing cricket of great intensity, since October. No wonder they are knackered.

It’s also true to say that they haven’t been blessed with luck. To lose Kevin Pietersen and, particularly, Stuart Broad was a serious blow, even if it did allow Eoin Morgan to belatedly join the party. They also fell victim to a once in a career innings from Kevin O’Brien and the farcical levels of dew in the match against Bangladesh, not that anything should detract from the Bangladeshis’ historic victory. This shouldn’t be used as an excuse, however, since even with Kevin O’Brien’s onslaught they should have had enough runs on the board and enough nous with the ball to get home, and while the dew didn’t help against Bangladesh they also bowled pretty brainlessly both in letting their opponents get off to a flying start and in allowing them to recover, particularly as they had collapsed fairly ignominiously themselves.

It is always easy to be wise after the event, but there must be some questions over the make-up of the squad. Many critics have questioned the inclusion of James Tredwell, but it seems pretty obvious that he is there in case Graeme Swann pull sup injured or ill on the morning of a match. The inclusion of Luke Wright, spirited cricketer though he is, looks to be a mistake, Michael Yardy is appreciably less effective in fifty over cricket than he is in the shortest form and poor Paul Collingwood looks past his sell by date. Much of this is, of course, twenty-twenty hindsight and the selectors shouldn’t receive too much criticism – it isn’t their fault, for example, that Jimmy Anderson has bowled like a drain.

They go into tomorrow’s match needing a win to stay alive in the competition and it may be time for some changes. I would rather see Ravi Bopara at the top of the order than Matt Prior, they shouldn’t be afraid to play two specialist spinners if the conditions suggest that it is a good idea and I would like to see Tremlett come in for Anderson. It will be interesting to see what conclusions the Andys reach.

Whatever happens, though, we shouldn’t be too down on the side. Given the build up they’ve played some decent cricket, they have certainly provided some of the most exciting moments of the tournament so far and they have considerable potential. Even if they are eliminated tomorrow, England’s one day side is still in appreciably better shape than has been the case for some time.