6 Days to World Cup 2015
England : Team Analysis
England and World Cups just doesn’t go well together, irrespective of the sport. They have won one in Football, almost fifty years ago. They have performed dismally in Hockey and, barring 2003, have been pretty mediocre in Rugby.
It has been no different in Cricket. They have been losing finalists on three occasions but have been very ordinary in the last five editions. They played the 1980s brand of cricket when it was well obsolete and, as a result, fared dismally against other Test playing nations. They anyway have not yet been able to figure out a way of playing on low-bounce, placid pitches and the last couple of World Cups were played on such pitches.
This time the pitches will be different but that in no way makes England a serious contender for the title. They have too many issues to address and have too little time on their hand. But, importantly, the decisions they have taken over the last few months have all been positive ones and that might just rub off on their performance.
More than a few eyebrows were raised when
Eoin Morgan was chosen to lead England in the
World Cup. Firstly, he is not an Englishman and, more surprisingly, he is not even a South African. He is not a regular in the Test side and has earlier played for another country. Despite all this, the England selectors chose him, because they had no other option. Morgan is their best batsman in the limited overs format and, apart from
Ian Bell, is the only one having an assured place in the English batting line up. Morgan is a positive person, as his batting often shows and might well bring in a lease of fresh air in the otherwise stereotype English unit.
Ian Bell has taken many years to mature as a batsman and this might well be his World Cup, provided he doesn’t throw his wicket away even before getting his eye in.
Gary Balance,
Joe Root and Moeen Ali represent the new generation of English batsman. They have it in them to become greats and they all might choose the World Cup to be the starting point for their journey to greatness.
Alex Hales is going to be very important for England and the good news is that he might well like the pitches in Australia. A typical Hales innings at the top of the order will be pivotal for England to put/chase a big score on the board.
England have two world class new-ball bowlers in Jimmy Anderson and
Stuart Broad. Two new balls in Australia and New Zealand might just suit them perfectly. Steve Finn can be unplayable on certain days but he can also spray it around like none on other days.
James Tredwell is one of the best spinners in the world in the limited overs format. It will be very interesting to see how Morgan uses him. Tredwell must be used as an attacking option and should bowl with a slip in place, rather than having a deep-point.
The major concern with the English bowling attack is the lack of quality options they have for the death overs. They have consistently been very poor in the last ten overs and got to find some new strategies to combat this issue.
The man who provides the much needed oomph to this English side is undoubtedly Jos Buttler. Some believe he will emerge to be the next
Kevin Pietersen and Jos has so far showed enough to keep them interested in him. Buttler’s form may well decide England’s fate in the tournament.
England should find themselves in the knock-out stage but they will surprise most people (and themselves, one can presume!) if they manage to go through to the semi-finals.
Squad : Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes
Batting and bowling potential charts indicate the percentage contribution of each player in the team.
Key Batsmen : Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Joe Root
Key Bowlers : James Anderson, Steven Finn, James Tredwell
Big Hitters : Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan
Most Experienced Player : James Anderson
Darkhorse : James Taylor
Last 10 Matches : Won 4, Lost 6
Team Average Age : 28 years
Oldest Player : James Tredwell (32 years)
Youngest Player : Joe Root (24 years)
England will be playing two warm-up games against West Indies and Pakistan at Sydney Cricket Ground on 9th Feb and 11th Feb respectively.
Fixtures for England in World Cup 2015 :
| Date & Time |
Match Details |
Coverage |
| |
Sat Feb 14 (D/N)
03:30 GMT | 14:30 local
09:00 IST |
2nd Match, Pool A - Australia v England
Melbourne Cricket Ground |
  |
| |
Fri Feb 20 (D/N)
01:00 GMT | 14:00 local
06:30 IST |
9th Match, Pool A - New Zealand v England
Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
|
| |
Mon Feb 23
22:00 GMT (prev day)
11:00 local | 03:30 IST |
14th Match, Pool A - England v Scotland
Hagley Oval, Christchurch |
|
| |
Sun Mar 1
22:00 GMT (prev day)
11:00 local | 03:30 IST |
22nd Match, Pool A - England v Sri Lanka
Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
|
| |
Mon Mar 9 (D/N)
03:30 GMT | 14:00 local
09:00 IST |
33rd Match, Pool A - Bangladesh v England
Adelaide Oval |
|
| |
Fri Mar 13 (D/N)
03:30 GMT | 14:30 local
09:00 IST |
38th Match, Pool A - Afghanistan v England
Sydney Cricket Ground |
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