An adjusted England ODI side....

...because the current one is a shambles.

1.Hales
2.Davies+ (What a f*ck up it was to drop him)
3.Bell (just)
4.Hildreth
5.Morgan(just)
6.Bopara
7.Broad
8.Swann
9.Bresnan
10.Woakes/Rashid
11.Anderson

Couldn't do any worse than the current lot. But oh sh*t, we've already picked the World Cup squad....

Ah, the old "everyone who isn't playing is automatically better than anyone who is" refuge.

Although it does work in the case of Tredwell and Yardy. Everyone who isn't playing is better than them.

Makes me feel better.

A change in mentality would do just as much as a change in the side.

But we've been saying that for years. And we thought they'd got the mentality right after the T20 success. But this is the same old shambolic English ODI cricket as always. Like we've learnt absolutely nothing after making the same old mistakes for years.

Yes, they should be thinking "win" rather than "lose horribly".

Jeremy Snape gets paid for this kind of insight...

Henry wrote:But we've been saying that for years. And we thought they'd got the mentality right after the T20 success. But this is the same old shambolic English ODI cricket as always. Like we've learnt absolutely nothing after making the same old mistakes for years.

T20 & ODI's are a different game though. You only need to look at Yardy to see that...

Dello wrote:Yes, they should be thinking "win" rather than "lose horribly".

Or more like, hey we're 89-3..... lets knock it about on the floor for a bit and get ourselves in the game before getting out limply

But we finally found an opening pair (Strauss and Davies) that were doing ok at the top of the order, only to drop Davies because the ashes success was still making Flower and co dizzy. Then we went with Tredwell and co. And the batsmen are hardly getting out blazing away. they're going along at 4 an over and then chipping meekly to cover- same old same old.

This could be Flower's Duncan Fletcher 06-07 moment- The moment when he jeopardised England's chances because he went with a personal favourite ahead of the pragmatic choice.

Nah, that's bollo. Davies is nothing. Prior's the better bat and keeper.

He just can't open. So don't play him there. Simples?

Plenty of other options up top. Why does it always have to be a keeper? Makes no sense.

Doesn't help that Strauss isn't that reliable an ODI opener either (despite recent success) - very hit or miss.

Prior should be no higher than five. Bell opening with Strauss.

Hell, in the Sub Continent, maybe even open with KP. If he gets out early playing a sh!t shot in the powerplay, it's better than getting out in the middle overs playing a sh!t shot with fielders on the fence.

Strauss
KP
Trott
Bell
Morgan
Prior

Or something.

I think it's time for Bell to open with Strauss with Prior dropping down the order to five or six.

Henry wrote:And we thought they'd got the mentality right after the T20 success. But this is the same old shambolic English ODI cricket as always.

I love the royal "we".

So the wank behind the bicycle shed didn't work.

Don't even know who Hales is and I've already seen plenty of Bops floundering at the highest level. Agree that Hildreth should get to audition and Davies should be persisted with.

Perspective please though, England have won almost everything for getting on the last year and a half. Faltering at the a*se end of 2 month plus Ashes tour with an injury hit side means close to nowt. Give them a few weeks off and with the injured lads back and it won't be so bad.

What was it - we'd not lost our last 16 series in all formats? Yes, hardly all doom and gloom even if we have played like complete numpties in the ODI's in Oz

Eric Air Emu wrote:Faltering at the a*se end of 2 month plus Ashes tour with an injury hit side means close to nowt. Give them a few weeks off and with the injured lads back and it won't be so bad.

That argument doesn't stack up, though, as the injuries have all been to the bowlers - and their replacements have done a sterling job, by and large.

The first choice batting line-up are all there. Although you could be forgiven for not noticing as they shuttle between the dressing room and the middle in a blur of vegetable-ism.

My squad:

I don't get to see a lot of ODI cricket as I don't have Sky and prefer to watch Tests anyway, but Kieswetter always seemed a good pinch-hitter when I saw him. Davies seems to have a better record but he doesn't quite look the part for some reason. Prior's strengths of hitting good balls for boundaries when faced with aggressive Test fields doesn't mean he's going to be a good ODI opener (similar to Michael Slater in this respect). So, I think in the sub-continent we could do with someone a bit more explosive = Kieswetter.

Adil Rashid should be a shoe-in for me - I would have thought you would need 2 spinners in the sub-continent. Plus its much better to have an attacking option in there, then negative filth like Yardy. Wickets are still all important in limited overs cricket. There's always Colly's filth incase Adil is having one of his off days.

I would stick with Collingwood, he's been a class player for England and his batting will come good I think. For me he plays at 5. Pietersen and Bell need more time at the crease, so they both move up a place.

My team:

Strauss*
Kieswetter
Pietersen
Bell
Collingwood
Morgan
Rashid
Bresnan
Broad
Swann
Anderson

Back-Up players. I like Trott's determination for runs, but for me he's a bit too one paced for ODI's. So he's not in my team but is back-up for the the top four.

Seeing the way Woakes finished out the T20 the other week I think he's made of the right stuff. I would include him, Shahzad for his reverse swing and we need another reserve opening bowler, probably Sidebottom for me, who was pensioned off too early.

So my reserves are: Trott, Woakes, Shahzad, Sidebottom.

Not going to happen now, but they're who I would have picked. And only 4 Yorkshiremen in there!

Gary 111 wrote:...we need another reserve opening bowler, probably Sidebottom for me, who was pensioned off too early.

IIRC he called time on himself.

Dello wrote:

Gary 111 wrote:...we need another reserve opening bowler, probably Sidebottom for me, who was pensioned off too early.

IIRC he called time on himself.

I think he was told beind the scenes that they weren't going to pick him again, and encouraged to 'retire'. If not Sidebottom then I guess Tremlett would be the best opening bowling option.

Siderarse was told he wouldn't be one of the first bowlers picked, and so announced his retirement, but I heard recently that he was considering reversing his decision and making himself available for T20s and ODIs.

The trouble with Kieswetter is his form completely collapsed after the T20 WC. He looked like a good option opening up, but his game went to sh*t in the summer ODIs against Australia and Bangladesh.

England couldn't really justify selecting him - at least up top. If they really thought he was the future, they could've given him a break and dropped him down the order while he got back into some kind of touch, but they don't tend to think like that. I've lost count of how many one-day openers have been and gone in recent years.

I do think he's a good cricketer, though.

KP and Morgan are our potential match-winners with the bat in this format, it's just that neither is really firing at the moment. How we sort the top of the order though I'm not sure, we need an explosive opener (whether keeper or not) but we also need someone who can bat through, and I can't understand the logic of not considering a player who has just scored 750 runs in an Ashes series for that role. Perhaps you can't fit him and Strauss in the same ODI side, I think this World Cup will be the last time we see Strauss in limited overs cricket and maybe Cook will end up taking over both the captaincy and his role in the side. As for Trott and Bell, again in-form players, do you drop them in favour of one-day specialists (in other words, players not considered good enough to play Test cricket)? The tried and failed like Chavi Flopara? We may discover another talent like Morgan if we give someone a go but in general your best cricketers are those who can adapt to whatever form of the game is being played.

Anyway, looks like progress has stalled and another World Cup failure is on the cards. Although with the bowling looking reasonable it might just take one or two batsmen to hit a real streak of form for us to have a good run I suppose.

If Trott plays he has to either open or play no.3 - Trott has opened plenty of times for Warks and has some good scores from that position.

I think the 15 overs is the real business time on India wickets though.

Imagine Sehwag, Tendulkar and Gambhir smasing it to all parts, or Watson, Hussey and Ponting. And we'll have Strauss, Prior & Trott. Not many boundaries or attacking intent there.

That's why in my team you have Strauss, Kieswetter & Pietersen. At least there's boundaries in that line up. Plus with the likes of Rashid, Bresnan, Swann, Broad - if they do collapse in a heap of rash shots at least there is some batting to bale them out.