England finished their tour of India with a third successive series defeat, losing a thrilling ODI series two games to one.
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Without ODI regulars Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer, the series was an opportunity for a group of fringe players to showcase their talent against an excellent India side, who were themselves without a collection of first-choice players.
Here’s how the 14 players used by England fared across the series:
Jonny Bairstow: 9/10
219 runs @ 73, SR: 120.32; one hundred, one fifty
HS: 124
Bairstow was his brutal best in the first two games of the series. Were it not for a middle-order collapse in the series opener, those performances would likely have been enough for England to take the series.
Jason Roy: 6/10
115 runs @ 38.33, SR: 123.65; one fifty
HS: 55
Alongside Bairstow, Roy set the tone in England’s run chases in the first two games. The pair, who now have 13 100-plus opening stands in 43 games together, have a reasonable case of being the most devastating opening partnership in the format’s history.
Ben Stokes: 7/10
135 runs @ 45, SR: 132.35; one fifty
HS: 99
Four wickets @ 30.25, ER: 6.05; BBI: 3-34
Nudged up to No. 3 in Root’s absence, Stokes played a blinder in the second ODI, falling one run short of what would have been one of England’s fastest ever ODI hundreds. His three-for in the first ODI pegged India back just as the hosts threatened to put together a mammoth total.
Eoin Morgan: 3/10
22 runs @ 22, SR: 73.33; no fifties
HS: 22
Just the one game for Morgan before an injury brought a premature end to the series. In his sole outing, he was unable to turn around his inconsistent form from the T20Is.
Sam Billings: 3/10
18 runs @ 18, SR: 81.81; no fifties
HS: 18
A practically identical series to Morgan’s. Part of the collapse in the series opener and missed the remaining games through injury.
Dawid Malan: 7.5/10
66 runs @ 66, SR: 90.41; one fifty
HS: 50
Malan can count himself desperately unlucky to have not played more than three ODIs by the age of 33; 50-over cricket is arguably his best format. Steadied the ship after a mini-collapse towards the back-end of England’s win in the second ODI and registered a composed half-century in the third game.
Liam Livingstone: 7.5/10
63 runs @ 63, SR: 121.15; no fifties
HS: 36
“Your game literally couldn’t fit more perfectly.” Jonny Bairstow summed Liam Livingstone’s game up pretty well at the latter’s cap presentation ahead of his ODI debut in the second game. Livingstone attacked from the get-go in both outings and complemented Malan nicely in the middle order.
Jos Buttler: 1/10
17 runs @ 5.66, SR: 68; no fifties
HS: 15
An uncharacteristically poor series for Buttler in ODI cricket, one in which he never really got going at any point.
Sam Curran: 8/10
107 runs @ 107, SR 103.88; one fifty
HS: 95*
Two wickets @ 69, ER: 6.27; BBI: 1-43
Like the majority of the England attack, the youngest Curran brother wasn’t hugely threatening against an imposing Indian top seven. However, his stunning 95* in the third ODI single-handedly dragged England back into the contest. It was Curran’s best outing with the bat in international cricket for some time.
Moeen Ali 6/10
59 runs @ 29.50, SR: 95.16; no fifties
HS: 30
One wicket @ 114, ER: 5.70; BBI: 1-39
He was the only England bowler with an economy rate under six in the series. That, alongside a couple of starts with the bat, represented a steady return to the XI for Moeen. He’s never been a prolific wicket-taker in ODI cricket, but his dismissal of Virat Kohli in the series decider temporarily swung the game in England’s favour.
Adil Rashid: 4/10
Three wickets @ 70.66, ER: 7.31; BBI: 7.31
An expensive set of games for Rashid in a series where spinners generally struggled. His double-wicket burst in the third ODI helped peg India back after a lightning start, but the England leggie was often targeted by India’s middle-order batsmen, most notably Rishabh Pant.
Tom Curran: 3/10
Two wickets @ 73.00, ER: 7.30; BBI: 2-83
Curran has just three wickets in his last 10 ODIs. He’s been a part of England’s white-ball set-up for a while now but after a trying winter – both with England and in the IPL – he’d be fortunate to retain his spot in the next set of white-ball series.
Mark Wood: 7/10
Five wickets @ 21.80, ER: 6.41; BBI: 3-34
England’s leading wicket-taker in the series despite missing the second game and not appearing fully fit during sections of the third. By some distance the most penetrative of the England quicks on show.
Reece Topley: 5/10
Three wickets @ 38.66, ER: 6.69; BBI: 2-50
An encouraging return to the side, Topley was impressive at the death in the second ODI, conceding just 13 runs from the 48th and 50th overs. Topley’s radar was slightly awry during the series finale.
