England’s ODI Team Is A Medley That Makes All The Wrong Noises

A soggy September can only mean one thing: it’s time to shoehorn in another ODI series before the international English cricket summer draws stumps. Last year, Australia were the autumnal tourists and won 3-2 between the showers. South Africa flew in via the Southern Hemisphere to fulfil the obligation in 2025.

Temba Bavuma’s side may have suffered jet lag, but they came prepared after a successful three-match series down under. That much was obvious in the opener at Headingley on Tuesday. England were embarrassingly under-dressed, out of rhythm and not up for a fight after the summer holiday funfair of The Hundred took out the August calendar.

A decade ago, Eoin Morgan changed the direction of the ODI team from the carthorse tactics England employed in previous regimes to all-out expression. The change had its bumps in the road, but England were building something that turned into a pot of gold four years later with the 2019 World Cup. Mission achieved. Ambition dumped. Those were the vibes.

The sun and the rain is here, and the rainbow has disappeared. The team isn’t really a unit, more a collection of old heads, converted Test players, wild cards, and raw recruits who are at different stages of their career life cycle. New captain Harry Brook wants his players to feel ten feet tall, but they fell like a deck of cards against some disciplined bowling. A total of 131 on a good pitch in just 25 overs is beyond analysis. And beyond a joke.

The Hundred can be blamed for destroying the purist’s view of an English summer, and it may be held to account for the team’s absent-minded “performance” against the Proteas. Charging from the glorious series against India, to the carnival cricket of the ECB’s answer to the IPL, back to the less-travelled road of ODIs is discombobulating.

Nevertheless, England’s white-ball 50-over team is no longer a serious contender for major trophies. They can barely qualify for them. Their limp exit at the 2023 World Cup was predicated on an over-reliance with the old guard, some of whom are still performing. Joe Root and Adil Rashid still provide ballast rather than imbalance.

The Champions Trophy exit was equally passive after a dreadful showing in the preparatory bilateral series against India. England are currently eighth in the rankings, within one place of dropping into a qualifying tournament for the 2027 edition alongside Ireland, the United States, the Netherlands and Scotland.

A team in transition is always a hard one to remould, especially when the iron fist and encouragement of Morgan is no longer guiding. Everything used to be built around England getting over the line, and the skipper was happy to exile any player who might burst the bubble. Witness Alex Hales’ ruthless removal. The current setup is giving out debuts like Christmas presents. The side have been bowled out 15 times in the last 30 ODIs. It’s all gone soft.

Brook and coach Brendon McCullum were seduced into choosing Hampshire’s 22-year-old Sonny Baker after he bowled some impressive spells for Manchester Originals. Baker ended up with the worst figures for an English debutant, conceding 76 runs from seven overs. Brook talked him up beforehand as if he were troubling the world’s elite. He might do that eventually, but the fast bowler’s exposure here showed the huge gap between franchise and international cricket.

Jacob Bethell came and went quickly as he did in the last Test against India. It’s hardly surprising given the Somerset man’s lack of playing time. Ex-captain Jos Buttler needed to buckle down but couldn’t manage it and now has only two scores in the 50s over the last 25 matches. Another old hand, Rashid, took all three South African wickets to avoid total humiliation.

English cricket needs to decide what they are leaning towards and start building the spine of an ODI XI that can walk the walk without falling over again in a global tournament. The next two matches are sell-outs at Lord’s and the Utilita Bowl. The people will still come and the contests will be closer, but the direction of travel for the hosts is harder to call. It’s an identity crisis that needs to steer a course and stick with it.