England slumped to a 2-1 ODI series defeat to West Indies, but will still have learned plenty from the three games played.
A DLS defeat by eight wickets in the opener was cancelled out by a stellar chase in the second, Liam Livingstone evoking England’s late-teens heyday with a stunning century. The series then moved from Antigua to Barbados, and while England fought back after losing four wickets in the powerplay, the damage had been done. Centuries from Brandon King and Keacy Carty made a tricky chase look miniscule.
Here’s what England can take from the series.
Salt has the grit to complement fine strokeplay
Phil Salt had played more than 50 games for England coming into this games. Or, as Shane Warne might say, he had played the same game more than 50 times, with little nuance to his all-out attack approach at times. However, there were signs that, as one of England’s most senior players on a tour populated by fringe players and youngsters, he had decided to take on some responsibility, with promising results. While he thrashed at the new ball in the powerplay of the second ODI, he bedded in somewhat thereafter as he moved to a half-century. Then, as England collapsed in the decider, Salt stood firm, and was unlucky to fall to a stunning fielding effort as he pressed the accelerator. Still, he ensured England had something to bowl at. More needs to come - these marked the first two occasions since his debut series that Salt had played out 30 balls in an innings against a Full Member side - but there was encouragement to be drawn nonetheless.
Jordan Cox's short-ball struggles could pose Test problems
It hasn’t clicked yet for Jordan Cox in an England shirt. Five white-ball appearances have brought a high score of 17, and he got stuck in each of the first two ODIs, hitting two boundaries in 50 balls, before falling to a snorter from a fired-up Alzarri Joseph in the decider. He is undoubtedly talented, and the sample size is small. But England will want Cox to find form for reasons beyond this tour. With Jamie Smith on paternity leave, he is currently set to keep wicket on their Test tour of New Zealand, and Ollie Pope, who has his own issues to deal with at No.3, is the only other gloveman in the squad.
John Turner exists, and he's handy
There was a certain irony in the circumstances of John Turner’s debut. The right-arm seamer has been a regular presence in England squads over the past 12 months, but hadn’t managed to get that precious first cap. Appearances for Hampshire and in the Hundred were sporadic too. "I've seen a few things on Twitter asking if I actually exist," he joked speaking to the media in Barbados during the series. And yet his bow came in a series sandwiched between two Test tours, competing with the English football schedule for attention. He was finally playing, but it felt like few were watching. Those who did will have seen a bowler who has the materials to justify England’s investment. He bowled quickly enough, reaching the high 80s, and claimed wickets with both full and short deliveries in the second ODI.
After shaky period, Liam Livingstone has to be part of McCullum's rebuild
At the start of September, Liam Livingstone wasn’t in England’s ODI squad. Only an injury to Jos Buttler allowed his recall, with that persistent calf niggle, and Livingstone’s own resurgent form, leading to the all-rounder being named captain for the West Indies series. His swift return to prominence marks out the strange place English white-ball cricket is in, with pecking orders ill-defined and plans fudged and fiddly. But whatever the circumstances, Livingstone made sure he will be firmly in the reckoning when Brendon McCullum takes office, laying the platform and then accelerating superbly to register his maiden ODI century and keep the series alive in Antigua.
When it comes to bowlers, sometimes less is more
While there are positives to take from this series, in truth, England were thumped, found wanting with both bat and ball throughout. While there are concerns over the former, who lacked the ODI nous not to throw away a series of starts in the opener, nor the technique to navigate a challenging opening burst in the decider, it’s the latter in which England were closer to full strength. Jofra Archer, Reece Topley, and Adil Rashid might all be in the Champions Trophy squad, and yet England managed just four wickets across their two defeats, and still needed a big chase in the game they won. Livingstone also had to manage the peculiar challenge of a surfeit of bowling options, with only Salt and Cox as non-bowlers in the second and third ODIs. That will naturally ease as England’s specialist bats return, and the likes of Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse, on Test duty, showed their potential in the Australia ODIs. But England also need their best to step up if they are to become an ODI force once again.
The schedule squeeze can’t be dealt with soon enough
If you’re searching for other signs of the weirdness of England’s limited-overs setup right now, look no further than Jamie Overton’s selection as a specialist No.8 for his ODI debut. He was back to bowling in the decider as he continued recovery from a stress fracture, and he hit 32 off 21 in that game to further explain England’s desire to get him involved somehow. But it’s hard to avoid the impression of a tour shoved in where it doesn’t quite fit, with the redevelopment of England’s ODI side paying the price somewhat. Perhaps only Salt and Livingstone will be in England’s Champions Trophy top six, while youngsters making their way, the likes of Jacob Bethell, Rehan Ahmed and Cox, will have had a tiring winter island- and continent-hopping by the time the New Zealand tour ends. It has made for a slightly denuded spectacle at times too. While you can never quite tell, it looks as if 2025 is when the fixture list starts to ease; it’s that that will allow McCullum to fulfill both England roles, and hopefully he will have his preferred picks available to him more often than not.
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