Published: Jan 23, 2015, 07:12 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 23, 2015, 07:12 PM (IST)
England controlled the game for a major part of their innings during the fourth One-Day International (ODI) against Australia. Ian Bell’s century stood out as he put them in a good position, before the middle-order collapsed. While that cost England the game, Nishad Pai Vaidya writes that they are a better one-day side now and such blemishes may happen.
Up until the 40th over, England were in control of the game at Hobart. Ian Bell’s beautiful innings had put them in a position of strength. It looked like England were turning a page following their struggle on one-day cricket in the recent past. The victory against India presented promise which continued into the England innings. With Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara to come, England had the perfect platform to push towards 320 or even 330. But, the last 10 overs only went for 59 runs as they lost as many as six wickets. Clearly, England lost the initiative there.
This side under Morgan looks refreshed and more suited to one-day cricket than the previous English teams. They previously had certain players who had restricted ability in the format. As a result, the lower-order had a lot to do on numerous occasions. On this occasion, the top-order did its bit but the explosive lower-order collapsed to some good Australian bowling. In the previous game against Australia, it was the other way round as the top-order collapsed and the middle put up a brave fight.
Despite this defeat, England can take a heart from the batting performance, save for the collapse at the death. For starters, Bell has reworked himself into a decisive stroke player at the top. He was always an attractive batsman, but would often get into the zone where he would get bogged down. Now, he has a more positive approach without taking undue risks. He does play those inventive shots, but they are few and far in between. He is not overly aggressive and paces his innings well. To begin with, Bell scores quick runs and then slows down as the innings progresses. But, he doesn’t slow down to an extent that it stalls the innings.
Then there is Moeen Ali, who is free-stroking and can apply pressure. He is the one who takes more risks than his partner, and when they combine, the run-rates are well maintained. In this innings, Moeen showed decent ability while playing the short ball. Australia targeted him with some short stuff and he pulled a couple for six. That should help his confidence. And then there is Joe Root, who is growing into a better one-day batsman with each passing innings. Though stereotyped as dodgy at times, he can score at a fair clip and put pressure on the opposition.
One may say that the lower-order’s performance was a blemish as they have some dangerous stroke makers in their team. England should not worry about that and advance. Such collapses happen at the end at times and today was the day for the Australian bowlers.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)
