England look to the Champions Trophy to gloss over a bleak tour of India, where Jos Buttler’s side lost both white-ball series and were whitewashed 3-0 in the ODIs. Here, the PA news agency looks at some key issues ahead of the trip to Pakistan, where England begin their tournament with a clash against old rivals Australia on February 22. Not even Brendon McCullum taking over as head coach could instantly transform the fortunes of England’s ailing white-ball sides.
They were beaten in seven out of eight matches in India and have now lost 16 of their last 23 ODIs, hardly the sort of form any side wants heading into a global event. Factor in a few injuries to key personnel and this trip has been a miserable first experience for McCullum. Ben Duckett attracted plenty of criticism for saying: “If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy.”.
Ultimately, though, he is right and his bullish remark perhaps hints at England’s morale not taking a bashing despite the tour going from bad to worse. If England somehow manage to win the Champions Trophy, this India tour fades into irrelevance. McCullum urged England to be “watchable” – and they were in India but for all the wrong reasons. Batters were told to be aggressive but floundered against spin, which they can expect more of in Pakistan, while the fast bowlers frequently saw their pace used against them, especially Jofra Archer.
However, McCullum and captain Jos Buttler have been at pains to state they will not water down their tactics, insisting what they are trying to implement has the backing of everyone in the dressing room. Any side on a losing run is bound to have detractors. But that went up a notch in Ahmedabad as Ravi Shastri and Kevin Pietersen speculated about their preparation, with England not training for the last two ODIs amid an exhaustive travel schedule and mounting injury problems.
While practice sessions under McCullum are now optional, England did train at least six times on the tour but eight matches in the space of 22 days, all in different cities, leaves little wiggle room for players to iron out kinks. Possibly. England have already been forced to swap out injured all-rounder Jacob Bethell for top-order batter Tom Banton, a peculiar replacement given their different roles.
But Duckett injured his groin in Ahmedabad and while he batted, he is now a major doubt for the Champions Trophy. The opener will have a scan when England head to Abu Dhabi on Thursday but any change must be rubber-stamped by the International Cricket Council. While Archer, Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton all have niggles and Jamie Smith has been sidelined since the T20 series, England expect the quartet to be fit to face Australia.
While England have taken a battering in India, a change of scenery and opposition – after Australia comes Afghanistan and South Africa in the group stages – might be just the tonic. Joe Root and Harry Brook are numbers one and two in the Test batting rankings and surely cannot be kept down for long, while fellow Yorkshireman Adil Rashid was a rare shining light in India. Buttler himself is due a big score and if England can keep Archer, Carse, Overton and Mark Wood fit then they have a pace attack to strike fear into opponents.
