“Below par in all departments” was how Joe Root summed up England and they did resemble a team totally unprepared for a World Cup opener.
With the bat they were unable to build partnerships, a sure sign of a team struggling for rhythm, and with the ball they were inconsistent in the powerplay when they had to hit their length and grab wickets to keep hope alive.
It was as if they were looking to “ease into the tournament”, as Eoin Morgan put it, and when he was captain England were always ready for the challenge, arguably to the detriment of the Test side. Morgan generally had his way: he could pick his strongest players and the schedule was geared for good match practice before tournaments. This was like watching England in their dark days at the 2015 World Cup.
England warmed up for this tournament by playing a low quality series against New Zealand, and an even more pointless exercise against Ireland. The New Zealand series was one-sided but was at least a useful chance to bring the squad together, get a feel for white ball cricket against a good opponent and decide the Jason Roy situation.
The three Ireland matches were played to fulfil contracts with Test grounds and broadcasters. They held no value for a World Cup in India, England rested most players and the public were not interested either. Notably, New Zealand played in Bangladesh after the series in England to adjust to the sub-continent. It is no wonder they hit 300 in both their official World Cup warm-ups before playing England and it was noticeable how adeptly Tom Latham handled his attack thanks to familiarity. They were ready for this game.
While England were wasting time against Ireland, Australia played a hard fought series in South Africa before going to India for three ODIs. The sub-continental side played the Asia Cup recently too.
Ideally, England would have played those home series a month earlier and then gone off to the sub-continent for some match practice in the actual conditions they will encounter at the World Cup but the English schedule did not allow that. It is swallowed up in August by the Hundred, pushing the white-ball international matches to the very end of the summer. England flew to India the day after the final ODI in Bristol.
Playing in the Metro Bank 50-over competition for their counties instead of the Hundred may have benefitted Root, who loves time in the middle, but not others. It is international cricket that matters, and coming together as a squad. But those series need relevance to what is coming up and playing Ireland at home at a damp Bristol was as far removed from stonking hot Ahmedabad as it is possible in the world of cricket.
It is not as if England have bags of recent experience playing in Asia either. Yes, most are IPL regulars and that helps to an extent but 50-over cricket challenges players over a longer period of time. It requires them to build partnerships and innings. Since the last World Cup England have played just six ODIs in Asia. Of the teams at this World Cup, only the Netherlands have played fewer.
England were left relying heavily on the two matches in Guwahati, official World Cup warm ups, to fit in practice but it did not work out. A journey from the UK to the far east of India took 38 hours and was described as “utter chaos” by Jonny Bairstow.
The two games were rain affected: the first washed out, the second reduced to 37 overs and neither offered any real benefit. Mark Wood had bowled three overs since the Ashes before today in Ahmedabad, no wonder he went for 11 an over against New Zealand.
It is not the first time this has happened with England, who tend to scoff at warm ups these days. It is an attitude that stems down from the best players, those at the top of the game who think warm ups are worthless but what works well for the greats does not necessarily translate for those lesser talented players.
England’s preparation for the Ashes was hardly ideal: a rush job to get home from the IPL followed by a walkover against Ireland, while Australia were playing a cutting edge contest against India to decide the Test championship. They were 2-0 down before they blinked.
Bilateral series are dying and going into World Cups cold is a trend that will continue. It means you cannot read too much into England’s performance. They play their next match on Tuesday in Dharamsala against Bangladesh. It will be cooler in the Himalayas, and it is a day game so the dew will not be a factor. The conditions should suit England’s bowling and it offers an opportunity for a very quick recovery.
They also have Ben Stokes to add to the side when he is fit and in Buttler and coach Matthew Mott, two calming influences who will not panic. This performance may well be seen as a blip from a team that just needed more time in their legs to adjust.
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