England at the 2015 World Cup.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Not sure England have a good batter. Buttler potentially. I'd pick Bell, because he's doing better than others. Root's recent ton has obscured a generally poor record. Morgan has struggled since they stopped bowling at his legs and may go after the WC (or may be captain). I wonder if Bell will play after the WC? KP and Trott have gone. Then there's Cook...

Currently,fancifully: Bell, Hales, Moeen, Taylor, Morgan, Buttler, Patel, Broad, Tredwell, Finn, Anderson.

Root, Willey, Stokes, Lumb.

[KipperJohn]

Not sure England have a good batter. Buttler potentially. I'd pick Bell, because he's doing better than others. Root's recent ton has obscured a generally poor record. Morgan has struggled since they stopped bowling at his legs and may go after the WC (or may be captain). I wonder if Bell will play after the WC? KP and Trott have gone. Then there's Cook...

Currently,fancifully: Bell, Hales, Moeen, Taylor, Morgan, Buttler, Patel, Broad, Tredwell, Finn, Anderson.

Root, Willey, Stokes, Lumb.

Pretty much agree with that AC - our batting in ODIs just isn't consistently good enough. Anyway we all know that in SL they'll start with Cook opening with Hales, so presumably Moeen and Bell will be contesting the No 3 spot which is not exactly awe inspiring. I really hope that Taylor gets a chance and makes an impact. However Cook's notion that they can win the WC seems like cloud cuckoo land to me.

Not seen any big decisions from Moores yet - will we ever - or is it done by stealth?

[Alviro Patterson]

Brilliant interview from Ian Bell, but only if he can be taken seriously and more importantly back his words up.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v ... 00611.html

"We're lucky to be able to pull on the England shirt and go and have a crack. There is a lot of hard work to be done but when we get out there we've got to be aggressive, we've got to be fearless and give it everything. I think people would rather see us be aggressive and lose instead of be timid and come away with nothing. Everyone's mindset is to play aggressively."

"It's exciting for all the guys, to compete for places and get in the squad. That's what we need, I don't think you want 11 guys knowing they are in the 11, you want that little bit of edge, people playing for places. We are playing for England, it's not a club side on a Saturday, we need that competition and the England teams I have played in at our best, when you know there is someone right behind you pushing for your place, that gets the best out of players."

The day Ian Bell plays aggressive cricket and not take his starting berth for granted is the day pigs begin to fly.

[KipperJohn]

You can't blame Bell for being picked. He's been talking up the younger players for ages now and, to be fair, his game is more pro-active and looking to dominate - aggressive is not a word I would use to describe him anyway.

I ;posted on his facebook page that hopefully he would convert more of his starts and 50s into bigger scores - he's not stupid he'll know that's what he has to do. I know he practices hard on clearing the ropes, as well as building upper body strength.

But as well as big hitters, England need a Jayawardene type batsman and Bell could, even yet, fill that role - though i'm not counting my chickens.

[meninblue]

To me it is obvious that teams would look to pick match winners - the player who on his day can contribute heavily to a win with some support from others in terms of runs and wickets. Experience and form would also surely come into play while picking the probables.

Most teams now play 7+4 combo in ODI format with non specialist bowlers (pacers/spinners) doing the 5th bowlers role. England too would do the same. England also have failed to find new players until this point of time, so there will be hardly any surprises in playing 11 that played in recent ODI series, unless and until someone gets injured.

England have identified a number of new players in the last 12 months or so. Harry Gurney, Moeen Ali and Alex Hales made their England ODI debuts in 2014, Chris Jordan and Gary Ballance in 2013, Joe Root and Jos Buttler in 2012. One would expect at least four of those players will make the 15 man World Cup squad.

I would not put Harry,Mooen, Ballance, Joe, Chris Jordan and Jos as top class ODI cricketers. Average yes. What i mean is that England does not has many players who are very good at ODI. To give an idea of whom i am comparing, someone like Virat,Dhoni,Rohit,Raina. England have just Trott and Morgan. Nobody from the new players that have been tried are as good as those two imo.

As Splinters often reminds us, we rarely pick players who are true ODI specialists. We stick to the idea that good test players can transfer their talents to ODI games. This maybe true in some cases but it limits the choices of the selectors.

Personally i would not mind a test player in ODI squad if he is successful. For example of a batsman from your country, Trott is giving you top class test match average in ODI's, at the SR which is acceptable at that average. Also, i guess his SR in 75+ or 100+ innings is better than his overall career SR when he plays the big knocks. From whatever i have observed about England ODI teams, i would not blame selectors entirely. They have tried many players but still none has given too much of hope until this point of time. Sorry to say but it is tough to even pick most England batsmen in Fantasy teams . It is that much risky. I would like to know who exactly are those ODI players that selectors are not giving chances.

[ianp1970]

Last time we were down under for the CWC we had our best ever tournament in the format. If we picked a similarly styled team as the one from back then, what would it look like?

Gooch (Cook) opening bat and captain
Botham (Stokes) aggressive with both bat and ball
Stewart (Buttler) keeper batsman
Hick (Moeen) batsman with credible off-spin
Lamb (Bell) experienced batsman adaptable to situation
Fairbrother (Morgan) finisher and key fielder
Reeve (Bopara) middle order batsman and unorthodox bowler
Lewis (Woakes) skilled but unproven all rounder
De Freitas (Broad) bowler capable of hitting boundaries
Pringle (Anderson) swing bowler best used at start of the innings
Illingworth (Tredwell) accurate spinner

[Arthur Crabtree]

A better side back then though.

[ianp1970]

A better side back then though.

By a distance AC!

[Alviro Patterson]

To me it is obvious that teams would look to pick match winners - the player who on his day can contribute heavily to a win with some support from others in terms of runs and wickets. Experience and form would also surely come into play while picking the probables.

Most teams now play 7+4 combo in ODI format with non specialist bowlers (pacers/spinners) doing the 5th bowlers role. England too would do the same. England also have failed to find new players until this point of time, so there will be hardly any surprises in playing 11 that played in recent ODI series, unless and until someone gets injured.

England have identified a number of new players in the last 12 months or so. Harry Gurney, Moeen Ali and Alex Hales made their England ODI debuts in 2014, Chris Jordan and Gary Ballance in 2013, Joe Root and Jos Buttler in 2012. One would expect at least four of those players will make the 15 man World Cup squad.

I would not put Harry, Mooen, Ballance, Joe, Chris Jordan and Jos as top class ODI cricketers. Average yes. What i mean is that England does not has many players who are very good at ODI. To give an idea of whom i am comparing, someone like Virat,Dhoni,Rohit,Raina. England have just Trott and Morgan. Nobody from the new players that have been tried are as good as those two imo.

Emerging international players a more accurate term, making a combined 115 ODI appearances. Whereas the top class Indian players have made a combined 700+ appearances.

White ball specialist players are hard to come by in England, purely because the prestige of the County Championship and players wanting to make it as a test cricketer. If England are to make it as a limited overs international side it's going have to take a huge overhaul, from grassroots cricket to the top.

[meninblue]

To me it is obvious that teams would look to pick match winners - the player who on his day can contribute heavily to a win with some support from others in terms of runs and wickets. Experience and form would also surely come into play while picking the probables.

Most teams now play 7+4 combo in ODI format with non specialist bowlers (pacers/spinners) doing the 5th bowlers role. England too would do the same. England also have failed to find new players until this point of time, so there will be hardly any surprises in playing 11 that played in recent ODI series, unless and until someone gets injured.

England have identified a number of new players in the last 12 months or so. Harry Gurney, Moeen Ali and Alex Hales made their England ODI debuts in 2014, Chris Jordan and Gary Ballance in 2013, Joe Root and Jos Buttler in 2012. One would expect at least four of those players will make the 15 man World Cup squad.

I would not put Harry, Mooen, Ballance, Joe, Chris Jordan and Jos as top class ODI cricketers. Average yes. What i mean is that England does not has many players who are very good at ODI. To give an idea of whom i am comparing, someone like Virat,Dhoni,Rohit,Raina. England have just Trott and Morgan. Nobody from the new players that have been tried are as good as those two imo.

Emerging international players a more accurate term, making a combined 115 ODI appearances. Whereas the top class Indian players have made a combined 700+ appearances.

White ball specialist players are hard to come by in England, purely because the prestige of the County Championship and players wanting to make it as a test cricketer. If England are to make it as a limited overs international side it's going have to take a huge overhaul, from grassroots cricket to the top.

It is just not the last 5 years or inexperienced players i am considering. In the last 25 years period there are hardly any English batsmen who can be considered as great in ODI format. Actually it is tough even to name excellent ODI batsmen who have represented England.

[Alviro Patterson]

It is just not the last 5 years or inexperienced players i am considering. In the last 25 years period there are hardly any English batsmen who can be considered as great in ODI format. Actually it is tough even to name excellent ODI batsmen who have represented England.

Not strictly true, England have produced some very fine ODI batsmen at a time when 50 over cricket was strong.

Graeme Hick, Nick Knight, Neil Fairbrother, Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, Paul Collingwood.

[Aidan11]

This World Cup has come a bit too early for us and I reckon we would be ready had it been slightly delayed.


....by about 30 or 40 years.

[m@tt]

England have announced their 30 man squad.

Alastair Cook (Essex) (Capt)
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Jack Brooks (Yorkshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Harry Gurney (Nottinghamshire)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Chris Jordan (Sussex)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Stephen Parry (Lancashire)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire)
Boyd Rankin (Warwickshire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
James Taylor (Nottinghamshire)
James Tredwell (Kent)
James Vince (Hampshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Luke Wright (Sussex)

When you're naming 30 players, it names itself. Trying to spot notable omissions - Carberry, Dernbach, Lumb and Trott are the only players to have missed out having played an ODI in the past two years (not counting Swann and KP).

[Arthur Crabtree]

Willey feels like a notable omission. Ravi Patel was in a squad recently. Briggs? Carbs has upset someone. Lumb not being in the thirty is harsh.

[Aidan11]

No Borthwick.

I guess he's long out of England's thoughts now.