Highlighting the reasons for England's sparkling ODI resurgence

Nature of play

Probably that defeat stung Morgan and probably, if he had to go, he decided to go his own way. Probably, he read Dylan Thomas and made a decision,

“Do not go gentle into that good night, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

England didn’t go into that good night, didn’t perish, only came out as shining knights. It helped that the pitches prepared were absolute belters, which they were guilty of not encouraging for the shorter formats for lack of confidence in the past. England got 408 in their 50 overs in the first ODI against New Zealand, the first time they crossed that milestone, overtaking the 391 against Bangladesh scored close to a decade before. Long time.

1. England started out regularly with Alex Hales and Jason Roy who gave the team thrilling and fearless starts.

2. England batted deep most often as was demonstrated when they chased down 300 against Australia with David Willey and Liam Plunkett playing cameos at No.8 and No.9. Against New Zealand in the second ODI, chasing 379 (D/L) from 46 overs, England were kept alive by Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett at No.8 and No.9 with Chris Jordan walking in at No.10.

3. The new breed of all-rounders like Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes and Plunkett have allowed England to have more options with the bat as well as with the ball. England, playing at home were seen operating with an attacking off-spinner and an attacking leg-spinner, a rarity in their history. That it reaped rich dividends was obvious when Rashid picked 15 wickets in 10 games, bowling on good batting tracks and often breaking partnerships.

England’s blazing starts

England’s ODI resurgence starts with the fearlessness at the top and a lot of credit has to go to the openers, Jason Roy and Alex Hales. The duo have often given terrific, uncharacteristic starts like 85 in 12.3 overs & 100 in 10.4 overs in the second & fourth ODI against New Zealand and 70 in 11.2 overs & 52 in 9.3 overs in the first & third ODI against Australia. Both Roy and Hales have an electric game, Roy particularly elegant striking on the on side while Hales packing a punch with the big shots.

The captain’s form

Eoin Morgan has been in fantastic form since the World Cup

A team is twice as dangerous when their captain is leading from the front and Eoin Morgan has been doing exactly that. A versatile and talented player who keeps his calm and composure, Morgan has piled on the runs, proving to be the backbone that the young team needed.

His pivotal contributions have helped England believe in themselves, especially when some of them came after successive wickets at the top. Morgan’s scores include 50(46), 88 (47), 71 (82), 113(82), 0(1), 38(46), 85(87), 62(56), 92(92) and 1(retired hurt) – 6 fifties and a century in 10 innings, at an impressive strike-rate.

A batsman like that gives the opening batsmen freedom and the finishers at the bottom a solid platform to launch.

The comebacks

Twice in the two series, England came from behind. England were trailing New Zealand 1-2 before winning the last two ODIs thereby clinching the series. Against Australia, they were down 0-2 before winning two consecutive matches to level the series against the World Champions heading into the decider.

That could be attributed to some of their counter-attacking partnerships that came after a wicket fell and prevented further damage by taking the game to the opposition. There is now a never-say-die attitude that has adorned the armour of many a champion ODI sides.

Here are some of their amazing counter-attacks in the last 10 games which explain how England have learnt to inculcate a spirit of fearlessness in their players encouraging them to play their natural game, no matter what the situation or what the quality of the bowlers. A lot of these counter-attacks came in wins, some of them coming in tough, pressure conditions.

Match	Stage of the game	Partnership	Pair
1st ODI against NZ	202 for 6	177 in 105 balls	Buttler/Rashid
2nd ODI against NZ	275 for 7	76 in 51 balls	Rashid/Plunkett
3rd ODI against NZ	227 for 5	61 in 32 balls	Stokes/Billings
4th ODI against NZ	111 for 2	198 in 157 balls	Morgan/Root
5th ODI against NZ	45 for 5	80 in 57 balls	Bairstow/Billings
3rd ODI against Aus	86 for 2	119 in 109 balls	Morgan/Taylor
4th ODI against Aus	180 for 4	58 in 37 balls	Morgan/Bairstow

Conclusion

The stats clearly show that England’s gameplay in the 10 games after the World Cup is not a fluke. They are results of a conscious decision to adopt a new strategy, a new way of playing ODI cricket, something England has been averse to in the past, something they have been incapable of pulling off.

With dashing wicket-keepers like Bairstow and Buttler, all-rounders like Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes and a skipper like Eoin Morgan who typifies elegant, powerful, timely and calculated hitting, England have found a path they should stick to at all costs.

Call it destiny that they didn’t have a chance for self-doubt quelling this brave approach because results have shown almost immediately. That is a clear omen for England to make sure the joy their fans received, unabated over the last couple of months, stays that way!