Everyone seems to have been putting the boot into England in recent months, be they ex-players or representatives of other nations. Clearly they have ulterior motives, such as selling books, settling old scores and unsettling their World Cup rivals. Nevertheless, the ECB and the coaching chiefs must have realised that tactics and strategies can never remain static. You do need to look at the influence of Twenty20 on scoring rates, the use of spinners and ploys concerning Powerplays, etc.
Australia and South Africa have just indulged in a right ding-dong series which left the former fractionally ahead of India at the top of the ICC rankings. England should leapfrog Sri Lanka into fourth place with a series win in the coming weeks and we should remember that SL come into these matches on the back of a 5-0 drubbing by Kohli and co in a hastily-arranged competition. True, not all their superstars played, but England do have some world-class performers of their own. All England have to worry about is where they sit in the batting order, which of the lesser mortals join them, and how to pace an innings. Not much to ask, is it?!
Since the start of 2013, England have played 39 ODIs, losing 21 of them. They won only three out of nine home fixtures during the summer, half to their opponents this week. It's not all about bad starts. Watching their painful mid-innings agonies against India at Cardiff in August, the so-called future of England's batting looked anything but. Alex Hales, Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan struggled to score boundaries as much as Cook, Bell and Root, while the only sixes came from Woakes and Tredwell when the game was already lost.
Cook is clearly hanging on for the World Cup and it is not beyond the bounds of credibility that he can score some runs in Sri Lanka and indeed Down Under next year. Moeen Ali's elevation to his opening partner is, to me, a no-brainer. His blistering 50 in the warm-up proved he can be effective not only as a useful spinner but also an exciting strokeplayer.
Ian Bell will come in at number three but what is the preferred middle-order? Presumably Joe Root will start the first game, as will Eoin Morgan, probably my least favourite England batsman now KP has departed. Ravi Bopara has his critics but he is a decent all-rounder capable of rattling the advertising boards and frustrating batsmen with his nagging medium-pacers. Jos Buttler may have jumped ship from Somerset to join a relegated Lancashire (ha-ha!) but he is the undisputed 'keeper-batsman for his country and is capable of ferocious hitting towards the end of an innings and taking the attack to bowlers slow and quick.
I wouldn't play Chris Jordan or Harry Gurney, and James Tredwell deserves a place only where the wicket looks conducive to slow off-breaks. James Anderson is a shoo-in, and I reckon it's worth giving Steven Finn another opportunity to bowl to his potential. He has been going backwards since his initial breakthrough, and he needs a decent series to book his seat for the flight to Australia where the pitches will probably suit him better. The fact also remains that his is number eight in the world rankings, ahead of all Sri Lankans. I'd prefer Chris Woakes to Ben Stokes because of the latter's expensive bowling. The Warwickshire man is no mug with the bat in any form of cricket, either, despite the more aggressive demeanour of the Durham star.
Finally, I must mention James Taylor. Previously best known as a fine County Championship batsman for Leicesteshire then Nottinghamshire, he hugely enhanced his reputation in the one-day game in 2014 and I'd love to seem him get some ODIs uner his belt. England are right not to fill their batting berths with T20 specialists like Roy, Hales and Wright. Players like Taylor and Vince must get their chance soon, capable of keeping the score ticking over while the more explosive hitters like Hales and Buttler do their stuff.
Ideally I'd have Hales opening but with Cook esconced, this would be my favoured Eleven: Cook (*), Ali, Bell, Taylor, Root, Bopara, Buttler (+), Woakes, Tredwell (or Stokes, in which case he'd advance to eight), Anderson, Finn. Sri Lanka must start favourites although theirs is a worryingly ageing squad. At least Angelo Mathews is 'on fire' right now and, as ever, the veterans like Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Herath will shoulder most of the responsibility. Let the contest begin!
