With a resounding 210-run win over New Zealand in the first One-day International (ODI) at Edgbaston, England seem to have turned a corner in their approach to limited-overs cricket. Shiamak Unwalla feels that while it is far too early to break out the champagne, England deserve special credit for beating one of the most attractive teams in the world at their own game.
England have never been a great ODI side. Even at their best (in other words, till the early 1990s), they have rarely exuded an aura of invincibility like the West Indians of the 1970s, Australia of the 2000s, and more recently South Africa, India, and even New Zealand. They have had the talent surely; what they lacked was intent.
Aggression, intensity, and killer instinct are attributes that England were never able to boast of. They had individuals who could — even before Kevin Pietersen — but as a collective whole, the adjectives most applicable for them have usually been “lacklustre,” “below-par,” and especially “boring.” Brendon McCullum lauds outstanding England’s performance against New Zealand in 1st ODI at Edgbaston
All that went out the window when Eoin Morgan led a side devoid of most of the England stalwarts for the past decade at Edgbaston. The stage was set — not once but twice — for a typical England crawl, with the faint prospect of a few stifled fireworks at the end.
Jason Roy was out off the first delivery of the series. Much later, England lost four wickets for 31 runs to slide from 171 for 2 to 202 for 6. On both these occasions, England could have — and probably would have — gone into a shell and meandered to a sub-300 total.
Instead, Joe Root played the type of innings one could expect from the likes of Kane Williamson. Eoin Morgan played a supporting innings that Ross Taylor would be proud of. Jos Buttler McCullumed his way to a remarkable century. Adil Rashid invoked Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi. Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid smash records in England vs New Zealand 1st ODI
Once the batsmen had amassed 408, Steven Finn did a Trent Boult by taking four vital wickets. Rashid followed up his Anderson-like batting with a Daniel Vettori-like spell, as England steamrolled New Zealand in a manner reminiscent of the last ODI encounter between the two teams; the difference being the fates of both sides.
England have managed to put in a near-perfect ODI performance. The challenge will be to prove that this was not a one-off freak performance. The Black Caps were given a taste of their own medicine; whether or not the tables will turn soon will say a lot about the mental make-up of the two protagonists.
(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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