Plenty of thinking to do for Vaughan and Peter Moores in 2008

England Cricket / Andrew Hughes / 21 December 2007 / 1 Comments

Andrew Hughes considers how much progress England's cricket team made in a tough 2007

The most often employed phrase in English cricket in 2007 was 'in transition'. My dictionary describes transition as, 'the passage from one state to another' but the story for England this year has been of an ordinary side continuing to perform exactly to expectations. If anyone was in any doubt about our place in the cricket pecking order, 2007 will have set them straight. A victory over possibly the worst West Indies side to tour this island since the 1950s was followed by defeats to India and Sri Lanka, with the feeble surrender at Galle this week bringing about confirmation of what realists have known for some time, that England are not the second best Test team in the world, nor indeed are they the third or fourth best.

Perhaps, rather than the year of transition, we should describe 2007 as the year of limbo. Having finally come to terms with the fact that 2005 wasn't the dawn of a new era, but a glorious one off, we haven't really moved on. The Test team in December is pretty similar to that which finished the Ashes in January, low on confidence, a little timid and lacking direction.

One of the reasons for this has been the fact that the new coach Peter Moores is finding his way in international cricket. That a coach who has never played the game at the highest level should need a little time to acclimatise to the rarefied atmosphere of Test cricket is understandable. But his naivety has shown at times, most notably in his mishandling of the 'jelly bean' incident this summer, which he characterised as 'hard Test cricket' but everyone else knew was childish and demeaning behaviour of the first order.

I remain sceptical too about his faith in county cricket. Whilst the Australian domestic game is a conveyor belt, county cricket is more like a corner shop. You can't just sit back and wait for the next Test calibre batsmen or bowler to drop off the line; you have to go looking for them, sometimes in the bargain bin (in the case of Ashley Giles and Geraint Jones) and sometimes in the junior section. Moores needs to grasp that the gap between county and Test cricket is a chasm and whilst his ability to get the best out of apparently ordinary players such as Sidebottom and Swann is admirable, it would surely be preferable if he brought those coaching skills to bear on the next generation of English cricketers, players like Bopara and Adil Rashid, who might be around to face the Aussies in 2009 and 2010-11.

And in the short term there are a number of pressing problems to be resolved. The fielding at Galle particularly has been abysmal, most notably the close catching. Dropping Matt Prior would be a start. Though he will be loath to dispense with a loyal and enthusiastic servant, all the evidence suggests that Prior is not a Test class wicketkeeper. And in the continuing absence of Flintoff, Strauss and Trescothick, the slip cordon needs to be sorted out. Then there are individual problems. Alastair Cook seems to have stalled in his development, Monty Panesar likewise and both of these would benefit from some intensive work with specialists, possibly from outside the current coaching set up. Then in the medium term, the captaincy succession needs to be decided and serious thought should be given as to which of the host of young seam bowlers are the best candidates to lead the attack when Hoggard retires.

It is still comparatively early in the Moores regime to draw too many conclusions but he should remember that losing Test matches is one thing, but doing so without any clear plan for the future tends to hasten the end for a coach. His work with the one day side has been encouraging and under Paul Collingwood's tenacious leadership they are at least competitive, notching up a couple of modest successes against India and a Murali-less Sri Lanka. But it is in the Test arena where reputations are made and in 2008 we need to see what the Moores vision for England's Test future involves.

Comments (1)

1. Paul | 22 December 2007

   A superb article!

   Highlighting the gap between County and Test Cricket is spot on.

   Cannot believe our fielding and catching has been that bad, how has that been allowed to happen?

   Where was the positive mindset?

   Also Andrew is right in saying there are short term and medium term problems with individual players.

   Moores needs to show his colours and quick!