England head into the defence of their World Cup title short
of ODI practice but unconcerned as they will approach the 50-overs format in
the same way they have tests and T20s - with total commitment to attack and
confidence in success.
While there might be tactical tweaks, and the presence of a
"rock" in the shape of Dawid Malan gives a semblance of stability, "Bazball"
will still be in the air and captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott will
give the team absolute licence to attack. Mott also brings World Cup-winning
experience from his time in Australia and overseeing England's World T20
triumph last year. Nothing is ever likely to match the drama of England's 2019
final victory over New Zealand but in Ben Stokes, who came out of ODI
retirement in August, they retain arguably the biggest draw in the sport.
Stokes warmed up with an England record 182 off 124 balls in a thrashing of New
Zealand last month and has the ability to take command of a game from any
situation. Similarly impressive in that series was Malan, who has spent much of
his career being told he does not score quickly enough.
The 36-year old was named Player of the Series after knocks
of 54, 96 and 127 and looks set to open with Jonny Bairstow. "It's
satisfying from my point of view to be able to silence some people who always
have some negative things to say, but my job is to score runs," Malan
said. Part of that noise was the pressure to include young star Harry Brook,
who was initially overlooked, but in the end it was Jason Roy who had to make
way. Brook has limited ODI experience and hardly sparkled in the recent New
Zealand series but the selectors decided he was a talent just too good to leave
behind. Jos Buttler has replaced Eoin Morgan as captain and is likely to spend
plenty of time in the middle alongside Joe Root, who also struggled against New
Zealand but remains a calming influence and averages almost 49 from his 151
innings.
The stop-start nature of international cricket and the shunting
aside of the 50-over format means the England team are far from a settled unit
in the format. Bairstow, however, said they were not overly concerned about a
lack of cohesion. "I don't think that's too much of a worry when the group
has played together for, what, seven or eight years?" he said.