England Cricket / Paul Moon / 19 September 2009 /

As England face a potential whitewash against Australia and skipper Andrew Strauss tries to explain what's going on, Paul Moon gives us his own take on where England have gone wrong and what they need to do.

With the sixth edition of the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy fast approaching England continue to repeat previous and fundamental errors of the past in selection, strategy and approach. For reasons that remain unexplained, English cricket lurches from tragedy to calamity made much worse by a lack of realisation and common sense of what 50-over cricket entails!

It is not just the score line in this present ODI series against Australia that rankles (0-6) but the manner in which it has been achieved. There are so many component failures within the England set-up. A stubborn denial from the management team idiotically smothers an acknowledgement of the facts.

For skipper Andrew Strauss to attribute a defeat to a lack of confidence or poor fielding is worthless. He should be using words like vision, evolution, preparation, fitness, talent and desire. He should be insisting and talking about building blocks and future development.

Overhearing Strauss's banter on the stump microphone about 'waiting for a mistake' represented a clear indication on the mindset of the team. Also, asking Broad to bowl a very full length around two feet plus outside off-stump from around the wicket to right-handers (to restrict scoring options), smacks of extreme negativity and most pundits remain unimpressed with that tactic!

Strauss talks about the lack of energy in the field. How did this happen, why is it tolerated? Remember that he was partly responsible for picking this ODI team with so many poor fielders in it. They did not become bad fielders - they already were! In any case should you be selected in the first place if you cannot field? Surely these things matter. His response to all these issues is a banal 'we will have a chat about it'.

The Middlesex man must take some responsibility for getting tactics and team selection wrong. England had a significant advantage by winning the toss five times out of six so far but did nothing with it. Thankfully the use of the powerplays is no longer an embarrassment. It is now generally understood that England do not understand its innovation so they are excused!

Strauss correctly reminds us that the top six have earned the right to play for England and they are not bad players - most of us agree with that sentiment. What irritates the England cricket fan is that they are allowed to keep their places irrespective of form or goods inwards.

Looking at the current ODI series in six matches so far there have not been any big scores with no hundreds and only four fifties. It borders on the absurd that Tim Bresnan (41.00) leads the batting averages. The experienced Collingwood scored just four boundaries in 175 runs with a pitiable strike rate of 61.14. Owais Shah has exhausted our patience after 63 ODIs and has shown in recent times that's he's as much a liability in the field as he is when it comes to running between the wickets.

The Aussies have neutered great hope Ravi Bopara and the public now doubts his credentials. Six matches at 25.66 is a poor return but when viewed with a strike rate of 64.43 you wonder what has happened to him. Perhaps complacency crept in after success against the West Indies. He needs to ditch the swagger and work harder on the simple task of getting some runs under his belt before being brought back.

Indisputably an opportunity to develop players in this series has been callously disregarded. Glimmers of hope rest with Joe Denly and Eoin Morgan but what have the selectors done to Adil Rashid? Why did he not play in every game with an eye to the Champions Trophy and the next World Cup? Where is Jonathan Trott, centurion on debut in the final Ashes Test at Lord's and one of Warwickshire's star limited-overs batters? Why is he not playing?

How can England bounce back in the upcoming Champions Trophy? The answer is they cannot! What positives can they take from this awful ODI series? The answer is none. England will be in a fight with New Zealand for third place. Latest Betfair prices include: South Africa [3.8] India [5.1] Australia [5.2] Sri Lanka [7] Pakistan [8.6] New Zealand [18] England [20] West Indies [34].

South Africa are a great price in a two-horse race to win Group B. With only Sri Lanka capable of stopping them they represent a good bet: South Africa [2.5] Sri Lanka [3.3] England [6.4] New Zealand [6.6] in the Group winner market. England's opening game is against Sri Lanka on the 25th September 2009 and it would have been great to see Adil Rashid competing with Mendis and Muralitharan. This is now unlikely to happen and I mourn yet another lost opportunity.

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