England’s latest white-ball reset can have got off to a false start but Joe Root sees parallels between now and the early stages of Eoin Morgan’s revolutionary overhaul of the ODI and T20 teams.
A decade on from Morgan’s first engagement as captain ending within the 2015 World Cup debacle, Brendon McCullum began his reign as limited-overs head coach with a 4-1 T20 series defeat to India.
Morgan’s messaging of playing fearlessly led to England’s resurgence, culminating of their 2019 World Cup triumph, in a four-year spell where Root amassed a dozen ODI centuries with a median near 60.
Since Morgan retired in 2022, England have lacked conviction under Jos Buttler but McCullum has been hired to lift the set-up with the identical positive approach that led to success with the Test side.
And Root, set for his first ODI in 15 months within the series-opener against India in Nagpur on Thursday, believes McCullum’s philosophy will bear fruit with the talent at England’s disposal.
England’s Capability
“I still think with this white-ball team, among the guys don’t really understand how good they might be within the ODI format and T20 cricket,” Root said.
“I believe that’s essentially the most exciting factor of it.
“It’s lots more established than it was however it has that very same type of feeling as 2015-16, Morgs taking on, how impulsively we’re like, ‘What can we actually do? What can we be able to doing?’
“One in all the massive draws for me being involved on this white-ball set-up is you don’t understand how far it could actually go and the way entertaining and fun it could actually be, seeing where we’re going to get to.”
Due to his commitments to the Test side, Root has featured in only 28 ODIs because the 2019 World Cup final, averaging slightly below 29 – well below a profession mark of 47.6 – and with a highest rating of 86.
Raring to go
But he has arrived in India with a spring in his step after a sublime SA20 campaign, where Root’s form has led to calls for his T20 return despite last featuring for England within the format in May 2019.
“I’ve not considered international T20 cricket for a very long time because I’ve not been involved in it for a very long time,” the 34-year-old said. “I haven’t given up (on playing T20s for England again).
“I also understand that you simply have a look at where the T20 game goes and the way England have arrange within the T20 team for a very long time, it’s probably a rather different player and role we’ll need in that position.
“The exciting thing is something that I’ve all the time checked out in my profession: How can I evolve? How can I keep improving? How can I be one of the best version of the player that I’m inside my very own remit? That’s what I’ll proceed to attempt to do after I get the possibility to play in that format.”
Facing Spin
Scrutiny continues to fall on England’s ability to play the turning ball in Asia, and the tourists will likely must again contend with Varun Chakravarthy on this series after the mystery spinner, who starred within the T20s, was added to India’s ODI squad on Tuesday.
Highly-skilled left-armers Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav also lie in wait, perhaps placing much more of an emphasis on Root, widely thought to be probably the greatest batters against spin on the earth.
“I’m not going to sit down and pretend I’m some type of spin guru that has all of the answers and understands it higher than anyone else,” he said. “I believe the hot button is understanding your personal game.
“I also think sometimes you possibly can over-complicate things and make bowlers out to be something they’re not. I suppose greater than anything, that is just attempting to keep it so simple as possible.”
After these three ODIs, Root heads to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy before a house Test series against India within the English summer then the winter’s Ashes in Australia.
Root, though, insists he is just not pondering too far ahead.
“After I was Test captain, it could have been (on my mind). I believe now it’s a bit different,” he added. “I believe you possibly can just be somewhat bit more relaxed. You’re not having to think an excessive amount of about that side of things.”
A board meeting of the England and Wales Cricket Board will happen on Thursday, offering a final opportunity to debate next month’s fixture against Afghanistan. There have been calls for the ECB to boycott the fixture in a show of solidarity with Afghanistan’s women, who’re in exile attributable to a clampdown on female rights under the Taliban regime.
Chief executive Richard Gould has previously advocated collective motion at international level but has shown no appetite for a unilateral response on the tournament. A change of heart at this stage is just not considered likely.
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