England’s first XI under Harry Brook’s ODI captaincy revealed more about the team’s plans going forward than the initial squad announcement.
There is a new opening partnership, a new side-balancing all-rounder at seven and a slightly rejigged bowling attack – here are the major talking points from the XI.
Jamie Smith partners Ben Duckett up top
For now at least, Phil Salt’s ODI career is on hold. His replacement up top is Jamie Smith, who endured a similarly ineffective Champions Trophy campaign but is rated extremely highly by the current regime rate as a cross-format option.
Smith was out caught in the ring in the opening powerplay for each of his Champions Trophy dismissals, though there is mitigation in his status as an extremely inexperienced 50-over cricketer. His trio of outings at three in Pakistan were the first times he has batted in the top three in a professional 50-over game since he batted at one drop for Surrey against Kent in May 2019.
Firmly established in Brendon McCullum’s Test side, he looks set for a prolonged run up top alongside Ben Duckett, who has been quietly prolific in an otherwise underwhelming ODI outfit of late.
Remnants of the 2019 core remain
While there is undoubtedly a fresh feel to the ODI side, remnants of the core that took England to the 2019 World Cup title remain. Joe Root is back home at three with the newly former England captain Jos Buttler two spots behind him at five. The slight change in the order – with Smith and Root each moving up one spot – also sees Brook return to number four, where he has, by some distance, looked most at home in ODI cricket.
From 13 knocks at four, Brook averages 44 and strikes at 110 – the only position in which his numbers do his immense talent justice in ODI cricket.
Elsewhere, Adil Rashid will continue to lead the attack – he will be 39 by the time the next World Cup begins.
Bethell and Jacks in the engine room
How well your Nos.6 and 7 perform in ODI cricket often goes a long way to determining the overall success of a side. Think Yuvraj and Raina for India in 2011 or Bevan and Symonds for Australia in 2003 – these are the positions that both add necessary impetus with the bat, but also bring balance to the side in supplementary bowling options.
Bethell missed the Champions Trophy and his absence was felt. While by no means a frontline bowling option at this stage of his career, England often felt one bowler short. They still might do now – how reliably will Overton and Carse get through 20 overs between them? – but there is at least more cover this time around, with Bethell a seventh bowling option.
It’s a big show of faith in Will Jacks, too. Jacks was part of the Mumbai Indians team that qualified for this year’s IPL play-offs, but was arguably more useful with the ball than he was with the bat. He is effectively performing the role that Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali have in the past – Jacks’ ability with the bat at the death, which is untested at international level, is an unknown, though a potentially exciting one for a player yet to nail down a spot for England in any format.
High pace once again prioritised
Even with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson out injured, England have put a premium on pace. Jamie Overton and Brydon Carse will take the field alongside Saqib Mahmood with Matt Potts once again carrying the drinks. Potts was arguably England’s standout bowler in the ODI series against Australia last year but is yet to play a white-ball international since McCullum became the cross-format head coach.
England’s seamers lacked incision over the winter, particularly during the middle overs. Carse’s seven ‘middle’ overs (overs 11-40) this year have been wicketless and expensive (7-0-65-0). Overton has fared better, but not markedly so (15-0-97-2). The benchmark for the middle-overs enforcer role for England will always be Liam Plunkett, who averaged 34.75 at an economy of 5.48 in that period of the game in the cycle between the 2015 and 2019 World Cup wins. On paper, an attack with both Overton and Carse looks a little samey. Not for the first time, England have gone all in on pace.
Will there ever be room for Hartley outside Asia?
Prior to the squad’s unveiling, Rob Key spoke of England’s need to improve their bowling and playing of left-arm spin. In the last three years, England have only taken seven wickets with left-arm spin in ODI cricket. For comparison, New Zealand, West Indies, Bangladesh and India have all taken more than 70 wickets with left-arm spin in that period.
Hartley’s inclusion in the squad perhaps indicated that England would change tack but seeing the first XI of Brook’s reign, it is hard to envisage how England will ever find space for him in the XI outside Asia. With Rashid a lock and no seamer in the top seven, it’s hard to see how England can include him in an XI. To include Hartley alongside Rashid, without a seamer in the top seven, necessitates England fielding an XI with just two frontline pace-bowling options – an unlikely way to balance the side both for a series at home but also for a World Cup in South Africa.
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