After a drawn T20 series, England and New Zealand head into their main preparation for the 50 Over World Cup, a four game ODI series. With the World Cup less than a month away, several question marks stand for both teams.
Finding a Rhythm
It is no secret that England are heading into the World Cup very differently than they did in 2019. Compared to the 88 ODIs of the last cycle, England have only played 36 since. With a flurry of T20 World Cups, the shortest international format has dominated the schedule. As such, most of England’s provisional squad are heading to India with little form to be dissected.
Playing New Zealand will be useful to the extent that it shows us where several players are at right now. On this topic there are two main schools of thought. The first is that the team is obviously undercooked and will struggle to play the format well. The other is that the talent and experience of the team is such that any adaptation period will be brief.
It is easy to see how both views have formed. In the ODIs that have been played, many of 2019’s stars have struggled. All of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler have looked short of their sterling best. Yet, these are all players who have played white ball knocks of the highest quality in this year.
There is clearly a high level of trust that England will just figure it out. For players who have played as many ODIs as they have in their careers, it is fair to say they probably have not forgotten how to play the format. Four games against New Zealand will show how this holds up. If the series starts to head south expect plenty of talk about the lack of 50 over cricket from the schedule.
Faces Old and New
Moving away from scheduling, England have to deal with a few changes to the squad. Primarily the return of Ben Stokes, and the late push from Harry Brook.
When Ben Stokes retired from ODIs, England made a couple of changes. Players shifted up the batting order, and the balance of all-rounders was entrusted to players at 6 and 7. The nature of his return is that only one of these gaps is filled.
With the belief that Stokes will now play as a specialist batter, the case is not quite as easy as just reverting to the 2019 team with a new player in for Eoin Morgan. Instead, there is heavy speculation that Stokes will move to 4 with Jos Buttler rounding off the batting at 5, leaving 6 and 7 to Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone.
The issue for England here is an obvious shortening of the batting order. Whilst capable of high quality, it would be risky to rely on Moeen or Livingstone to consistently contribute from 6.
If England also come to this conclusion, the natural answer is finding a space in the team for Harry Brook. Not included in England’s provisional squad, talk of bringing Brook in has dominated conversation.
All summer Brook has showcased his ability to flip games with a destructive knock, playing at 4 would certainly bolster England’s batting ability by giving them six pure batters. A late addition to the squad as ‘batting cover’, it seems unimaginable that Brook will not get a run out.
What the issue here amounts to is that England have still not cracked their ideal starting eleven. It remains to be seen how they balance batting and bowling. Over the four games expect them to tinker with various setups.
Boult From The Blue
On the other side of the series, New Zealand have a returnee of their own. After declining a central contract last year, Trent Boult will be playing his first ODI since September 2022.
One of the most potent swingers of the ball, it comes as little surprise that New Zealand feel more comfortable with Boult than without him. What shall be interesting to see is how quickly Boult gets back into the swing of things in the 50 over format.
For the last year Boult has only been bowling spells of 4 overs, often doing two or three of them upfront in the Powerplay. The step up to 10 overs is a considerable one and is one that can demand different skills. When talking about a player such as Trent Boult there is little doubt he will get up to the speed, the question is more to do with how quickly he gets there.
The success of New Zealand in the World Cup will rest heavily on the ability to take wickets early, a strategy that becomes much more feasible with a fit and firing Trent Boult. If he hits the ground running against England, expect to see him causing major problems for batters in India.
