It’s been more or less plain sailing for England’s one-day side in recent years, writes Wisden Cricket Monthly columnist Jonathan Liew. But history tells us that with a World Cup nearly upon us, anything could happen. Just ask Wayne Larkins.
This article first appeared in issue 19 of Wisden Cricket Monthly. Buy a copy here.
Before all of them – the wildcards and the late bolters, the hopeful punts and the hopeless makeweights – there was Wayne Larkins.
Poor Ned. Picked for England’s 1979 World Cup squad on the basis of a vague hunch and a dashing cover-drive rather than any actual form, Larkins’ most telling contribution to the tournament turned out to be two overs of measly medium-pace in the final, smashed to all parts by Collis King. To date, he remains the only male England player to make his one-day international debut at a World Cup.
Naturally, this is a baroque delusion of which we all need to be disabused at once. There’s still plenty of time for the chaos of the EPWCFO to work its grizzly magic. England’s decision to name their World Cup squad in two messy stages – an extended squad in April (including a preliminary 15-man squad for the tournament), then a final squad after the Ireland and Pakistan games in May – feels like the first red flag. The IPL always has the potential to throw a spanner in the works. The ongoing Jofra Archer soap opera has several more twists to come. So too the future of Trevor Bayliss.
It’s worth pointing out, of course, that not all chaos is the bad kind. James Anderson was a hasty but inspired pick by Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher in 2003. And the decision to parachute in Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter ahead of the 2010 World T20 was the first chapter of a remarkable triumph against the odds. All the same, history teaches us that even the best-laid plans can unravel in a hurry. Or, put another way: if you see Wayne Larkins striding out to bat against South Africa on May 30, you’ll know something’s gone wrong at some point.
