England’s ODI Batting Defines Modern Day Cricket
After chasing a mammoth total of 360 against the West Indies, the English batting order have proved that they have the most dangerous line up in the world.
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n 2015, England was knocked out by Bangladesh in the Quarterfinals of the world cup, and that is when they decided to make a 360-degree change to the make-up of the team and the style of cricket which they wanted to play going forward. Let us take a detailed look into their batting order and try to decipher why they are so lethal in the 50 over format.
To fill the opening slots, England has two explosive openers in Jason Roy and Johnny Bairstow who can hit the ball from the get-go. This is what we saw against the West Indies in the first ODI. Both batsmen attacked from the first over and got their team to the perfect start while chasing an enormous total. Although the pitch was flat, both batsmen picked the correct shots and put pressure back on the West Indies immediately. Both were striking the ball cleanly and did not look to be in a hurry despite a high required rate. Both these openers can take the game away from the opposition in the first 10 overs, and if there are flat pitches on offer during the world cup then expect these two to cash in. Alex Hales is also waiting in the wings as the back-up opener, and he is no slouch with the bat either. Hales can strike the ball cleanly and clear the boundary with ease.
In the middle-order, they have two touch players in Root and Morgan who can steady the ship by playing some sensible cricket and rotating the strike. If needed they can up the ante with some cute shots like the scoop or reverse sweep. These two batsmen bring solidity into the lineup and in case wickets are falling around them, they can hold up one end and allow the other batsmen to bat around them. Root demonstrated this beautifully in the first ODI against the West Indies, his hundred was not as entertaining as Roy's but he ensured that there were no further hiccups and got his team through to a win with some sensible shots and splendid rotation of strike. Morgan is also great when it comes to building a partnership but he also has the ability to accelerate when needed, so he can play more to the situation and hence him batting at number four is great because sometimes you are required to come in and play sensibly and sometimes there is a need for quick runs.
In the lower middle-order, England has the best finishers going around in world cricket, Jos Butler and Ben Stokes. These two can tonk the ball to all parts of the ground and no required run rate is too high for them. These two can convert a 300 score to a 370 with a combination of big hits and clever batting. They are both test cricketers as well so if needed they can block out a fiery spell from the opposition and accelerate when required. They also have Moeen Ali and Woakes behind them in the order so even if they do get out, there are a couple of batsmen who can come in and hit from ball one.
So overall England has the most versatile and lethal batting line up in the world right now. They have adapted to the pace of modern day cricket and now they are setting the standard in terms of scoring rates and how to go about a 50 over innings. On their day they can chase down any score and it won't be surprising if they set scores over 400 at least once during the world cup. It will be interesting to see how they do in a pressure knockout match or a pressure situation, if they can hold their nerve then they will have a great opportunity to win the whole tournament.