England managed to pull off an excellent chase against New Zealand in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) at Trent Bridge to draw level 2-2 in the five-match series. While England have finally decoded their ODI batting woes, Shiamak Unwalla feels their bowling remains suspect without the senior pros.
Jason Roy and Alex Hales have finally come to the party. Anyone who has watched them bat knows that each man can out-hit the other, but for the first three games they did not quite click. An 85-run opening stand in the second ODI showed signs of things to come, but one felt there was a different dimension to their game. This came out in the fourth ODI when the duo put on exactly 100 in less than 11 overs.
It was the start provided by Roy and Hales that enabled Joe Root and Eoin Morgan to take off after that. By now there is little doubt that Root is England’s mainstay, and Morgan seems to have finally graduated from scoring attractive 30s to going on and making a big score. Between the four of them, England scored 324 of the required 350, thereby ensuring an easy win. READ: New Zealand’s bowling woes continue to mar batting brilliance
England’s batting has finally woken up to the ODI format. The pathetic display Down Under during ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and a subsequent change in the management seems to have reinvigorated the side into a well-oiled machine; while batting anyway. READ: New Zealand bowlers have to get their act together against England
The bowling is a different matter entirely. In the absence of Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, and James Anderson, it seems that England have struggled to take those crucial early wickets. Steven Finn has done well, but the rest of the bowling has struggled to make an impact. Adil Rashid has been promising — the way he came back to bowl a five-run final over after going for 28 shows immense mental fortitude — while Ben Stokes has been consistent. But in terms of wicket-taking abilities, this side lacks firepower. READ: ICC must come to rescue of bowlers as Eng vs NZ ODI series turns out to be a run-fest
Barring the first ODI, where New Zealand succumbed to the pressure of a gigantic chase, England have not been able to rein in the Kiwi batsmen. Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum have usually got the Black Caps off to a good start, and even when they failed to do so Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor stepped up. At least two of the top four have scored runs in every match so far, and that has showed England’s inability to stem the flow of runs at the top.
While Woakes is injured, Broad and Anderson have been dropped for a lack of form. Once they return, the bowling will look a lot more formidable, but relying too heavily on a couple of players is never a good thing. As far as the batting is concerned, England have Ian Bell, Moeen Ali, and James Taylor waiting for another opportunity to shine. The bowling seems to have far less depth.
If England want to truly become a force to be reckoned with in ODIs, they need to sort out their bowling issues. The batting is clicking for now, but even their full batting might may not be enough to go past the Kiwis if a certain Brendon McCullum really gets going.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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