Strengths
The decisions to sack Cook and Stokes from the team shows a ‘perform or perish’ ethos adopted by the setup and this may well spur the team to push their limits. Despite the team not realizing their full potential yet, they have the ingredients to make a fine ODI team. The team is stocked with hitters, technical batsmen and world class bowlers. Yes, Graeme Swann was a once-in-a-generation tweaker, but James Tredwell is more than handy and is a tenacious customer who can bog down batsmen.
Apart from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, James Anderson and Stuart Broad are the only other world class bowling duo existing in world cricket right now, taking longevity as a yardstick. Chris Woakes’ form with the bat and ball also bodes well for the team and they have a batting order that runs deep.
When written off in the past, the team has shown that they can surprise teams too. If history is anything to go by, England had an excellent run in the 1992 World Cup and picked themselves up from a 0-5 whitewash in the Ashes to head to an unlikely win in the 2007 tri-series. While they have odds stacked against them, England may well be the surprise package of the tournament.
Weaknesses
Despite holding on to the spot of the best T20 batsman in the world for a while, Alex Hales is not given a run of games to prove his mettle as an opener. Yes, Moeen Ali showed tremendous pedigree in Sri Lanka but in Hales, England have the antithesis of Cook at the top as they continue to tinker with opening pair. This could go on to hurt England as they have a slew of batsmen around whom an innings can revolve — Joe Root, Gary Ballance, James Taylor and the classy Ian Bell — and one of them will miss out to lend the starting XI balance.
The team’s woeful ODI record in recent times is also a cause for worry. In 2014, they lost 1-4 to Australia following the Ashes debacle and lost bilateral series to Sri Lanka, home and away. The latter led to Cook’s sacking as they lost five of the seven ODIs. Those losses to Lanka were sandwiched by a 1-3 loss to India too, again at home.
While James Taylor proved his worth in demanding wickets for an Englishman, in Sri Lanka, sacking a maverick like Kevin Pietersen could have further repercussions as it ripped the dressing room apart in the aftermath. Anderson is closing in on the 400 club in Tests, but he still hasn’t mastered the ODI format and can prove to be costly. Since the 92 World Cup, they have not had a single World Cup that they can be proud of and under a new captain, it is only realistic to not expect any miracles.
Squad
Eoin Morgan(c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes
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