England Cricket / Paul Moon / 08 April 2011 /

Andrew Strauss has stepped down but Paul Moon is dismayed by the lack of a strong replacement as England's ODI captain.

England are bereft of strong candidates to replace Andrew Strauss as captain of the ODI team. It seems almost bizarre that the three main protagonists for the job appear to be Ian Bell, Stuart Broad and Alastair Cook. Not one of them even remotely resembles an ODI captain in waiting.

Cook is a man designed to play Test Cricket only, as his strike rate of 71.38 runs per hundred balls, with a batting average of 33.00, proves. In an age when players continually bleat the phrase 'burn out' he should be allowed to continue his great work for the England Test side undiluted.

Bell has improved immeasurably in confidence over the last 12 months but that was from a low base and he has never convinced in the responsibility stakes. Giving him the job could irreparably damage him just as he is delivering his latent talent.

Stuart Broad is the wrong man for the job for less obvious reasons. He should not be disqualified because of his youth or aggressive nature. In this country we inherently and wrongly adopt an ageist and cautious stance in sport, especially in cricket; however, history has proved irrefutably that batsmen make the best captains!

Andrew Strauss can only be partially blamed for our poor showing at the World Cup but it is right that he be replaced. In the ODI series in Australia, and then through into the World Cup, he demanded more responsibility from the batsmen but they neither listened nor gave. On a personal note, his one-day batting has improved substantially but his conservative attitude is not conducive to modern ODI cricket, his statistics over 127 matches clearly illustrates his shortcomings. For the sake of longevity and his Test career it would be a mistake do a 'Ricky Ponting' and play on as a player once the captaincy has been relinquished.

Of course, having different captains for different codes presents its own set of problems. If we gave Kevin Pietersen the job, would his ego complicate the captaincy of the Test team? Paul Collingwood has 'gone' as an international cricketer and that leaves Jonathan Trott. Although he is now an established player, his ODI strike rate (78.62) needs some work. His runs are of the keystone variety and may be too valuable to gamble with!

Clearly the England ODI captaincy cupboard is bare. The remit must be to weigh up the alternatives without going backwards. With an eye to the next World Cup, perhaps Eoin Morgan is a gamble worth taking. He continues to develop and has the presence and profile to suggest he has the x-factor. If he was given the chance to grow into the job, while receiving the support of the senior players, he could be the man to deliver in time.

We'll find out a little more about Morgan when he plays with his new IPL side the Kolkata Knight Riders. This is the perfect platform to showcase his talents.

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