England's White-Ball Cricketing Woes-A Critical Review Before the Champions Trophy

Following a disastrous outing in the white-ball cricket campaign for England, silence over their performance has been deafening. Besides criticism from each and every one, former skipper Nasser Hussain was vociferous on the issue. The team, led by Jos Buttler, is under much pressure following the failure to regain their previously superior form, a form that had seen them clinch the 2019 ICC Men's ODI World Cup under Eoin Morgan and coach Trevor Bayliss. Hussain believes England's current white-ball cricket strategy is "way off" from its previous success, especially when compared to the team that dominated international cricket in the last few years.

This criticism comes after England lost the T20I series to India by a lopsided 4-1 scoreline and then suffered a narrow four-wicket defeat in the opening match of a three-game ODI series. This would be a pressured win as if the team is to finish their India tour on a high, they will need to win the next two games from Cuttack and Ahmedabad with the team trailing 1-0. The series loss comes ahead of England's participation in the much-coveted Champions Trophy, scheduled to be played from February 19 to March 9, when they will face Afghanistan, Australia, and South Africa in what is going to be an exciting eight-team tournament.

A Decline in White-Ball Cricket in England

According to Hussain, the side has struggled persistently and this time with handling spinners. England's game was marred by lapses of concentration at the crunch time. He picked up a classic example like Phil Salt getting run out in the first ODI which summed up a characteristic of a side that can't keep calm under pressure. According to him, the same mistake went on in the T20I where India's spinners particularly Ravindra Jadeja turned untamable for the batsmen from the opposing side.

"The T20s they lost and they lost a lot of those games due to poor handling of spin," Hussain said. He was quick to add his own kudos to India's depth in white-ball cricket - what with the likes of Abhishek Sharma impressing in this T20 series. "India, with their depth in white-ball cricket, have shown how formidable they are. Even with big names like Virat Kohli resting and Shubman Gill returning to form, they're a tough side to beat."

To be frank, Hussain feels that the problems of England against spin have become a very big concern. They haven't faced too much spin, but their batting against the slower bowlers has been woefully short of the mark. "It's not like they're getting out to huge turners," he said. "It's more about not reading spin correctly. England hasn't been able to pick the right deliveries and the right moments to attack."

It also addressed the aggressive style that's been associated with Eoin Morgan's white-ball cricket for as long as anyone can remember, brought about in England. However, in this game today, such tactics are going to be questioned a bit more and, indeed, especially so since England cannot get up and running when they need to. According to Hussain, though being aggressive while batting had paid off for England, yet "it doesn't always have to be that way". The team has failed to strike the right balance between playing aggressively and knowing when to slow down and build an innings.

The approach that worked for the team during the 2019 World Cup is seeming to be a challenge for the current team in 50-over cricket. Hussain says that players like Harry Brook haven't really adjusted to the demands of the longer format, espicially when it comes to facing spin. He thought perhaps the side might have to be rethought now that players like Joe Root are included; he is a more conservative anchor role in the middle order. Not even Root could produce a match-winning knock in the first ODI. He just couldn't bat long enough to anchor the innings.

Well, that brings up a great point brought up by Hussain, which is: the current English team does not have much experience in 50-over cricket. "England doesn't play much 50-over cricket anymore," he mentioned. "Since the last World Cup, they have been more focused on T20 cricket, and there is hardly any domestic 50-over competition, which is a problem." The inability of England to play the longer format regularly means that they are unable to figure out the right tempo and the balance between aggression and caution.

Future Champions Trophy

According to Hussain, however, it is the time when England must rapidly switch their game and revamp their chances in the whites. "It's a very important few months ahead for England," he said. This team has got to be able to somehow revert back and return to its winning ways ahead of the Champions Trophy. Now that pressure is mounting on Buttler and the coaching staff to re-calibrate against spin in time for this big global event.

Which, of course, provokes a few questions over the poor showings in India by England, but hopefully they take this to re-group and get back into the rhythm. This will finally tell whether the side can come back to the world's top whites-ball sides as they can very well do with the high pressure environment they find themselves in while playing the Champions Trophy. So the coming months are going to be crucial as they try to learn from their mistakes and come back to the form that brought them glory in 2019.