Raining on England's parade
Friday, 05 Sep 2008 16:44
New dawn for England's one-day team?
It is fortunate for South Africa that England lost the one-day series against New Zealand earlier in the summer, for otherwise the rain in Cardiff would not have saved the Proteas from losing second place in the ODI rankings. Instead, this summer's two other featured teams are joint third.
Were England to play the Kiwis now a different outcome could be on the cards, but victory would not be a certainty. While England's Test game is good enough to beat such teams, the ODI game has bobbed around like a cork in the past year. The New Zealanders had brought England down to Earth in successive series after Paul Collingwood's men beat India at home and a Murali-less Sri Lanka away. While the result of the Test series has contrasted with that of the one-day series in each of the last five rubbers, however, the situation under new captain Kevin Pietersen may well be different.
Instead of playing in fits and starts, with certain players unsure of their place and others operating like square pegs in round holes, this England side is now playing with utter confidence and conviction. Whatever extent to which this is attributed to the new captain's influence, the results are clears enough. Owais Shah has been a revelation, playing freely in the fashion that his country has yearned for and putting up a stronger case for Tests selection in the process. Stuart Broad has continued to improve. Collingwood is back with a bang, the skipper is inspired, rather than burdened, by his responsibility and above all Andrew Flintoff is back to his best. Now that Steve Harmison is both willing and able with the white ball, the future looks brighter.
Of course, the conviction, drive and talent that England have brought to the series contrasted with the performances of South Africa. It may be argued that they came to England to win the Test series and, having accomplished the task at Edgbaston, have been mentally on the plane home ever since. The same thing could be said in reverse of England the last time they were in South Africa. But the reality is that several of the tourists, players such as Herschelle Gibbs, failed to step up to the plate when the team needed them.
The pity for England is that there is no Champions Trophy coming up just as they have the momentum, although any decision other than cancellation for the Pakistan event would have been a crass move at the very least. However, this will leave the players fresher for India, where just two Tests will be played alongside seven ODIs. This, far more than the trip to the West Indies after Christmas, will reveal whether England's revival was a false dawn or the start of a bright new day.
Charles Britten