The big picture: India is finally gaining strength
All it took was an injection of the big guns as India’s unhindered UK tour finally found its pulse at Edgbaston on Tuesday. The six-wicket win in the first ODI did not put the world to rights after the horrors of the T20I stages that preceded it. But by handing England their first 50-over defeat at this stadium since 2014, they have at least seized the upper hand in the white-ball format, which is most important at the moment given the relative proximity of next year’s World Cup in South Africa.When the teams reconvene in Cardiff, England will be left in no doubt as to why things went wrong for them. They appeared to have done the hard work of hammering out a 61-run opening stand that included an egoless absorption of Jasprit Bumrah’s superb spell on the new ball, but then stuttered unusually.
Few teams recovered from a middle order collapse of 5 for 19 off 27 balls, and England certainly did not, although Joe Root and Liam Dawson did their best with a spirited 121 that at least put a token score on the board. Root, however, should have joined the collapse in the 7th over when Shivam Dube played a counter catch, and while Dawson showed courage in making his first ODI fifty, he clearly should not have played at all given how badly England had misread their own terms.
As Harry Brooke proved by fielding his three fast bowlers on an unexpectedly bouncy, smooth surface, England were at least ten overs weaker in pace of play and paid for it with the ease with which India cruised to victory. It’s not a mistake they are likely to make in Cardiff, where the notorious dimensions of the pitch – short, straight boundaries and deep pockets on the wicket – make hitting the field a must. Tellingly, Braydon Carse was quickly brought into the squad after returning from injury and is in contention to start on Thursday.As for India, they are one win away from their first honors on the tour and can be overall happy with their performance at Edgbaston. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli may have made little difference in their return to action, while the cheap removal of K.L. Rahul briefly threatened England with a fightback, but Shubman Gill’s 80 off 75 balls was quite special.
His mere presence denied Brook the opportunity to perform a few cheap tricks and spread the tips of his spears more widely, and although his retirement with the coming century caused concern in his camp, he did not appear to have suffered anything more serious than a seizure.
Essentially, however, Bumrah showed the value of a little R and R. After a tough IPL by his huge standards, he returned to his ruthless best in his first competitive outing since May, and where he led the way, Prasidh Krishna and the energetic Gurnoor Brar were able to overtake his standards and leave an unconvincing England team in the mire.
Despite their impressive performance in T20Is, England’s ODI shortcomings show no immediate signs of improvement. Their veteran player, Root, once again demonstrated the technique and concentration required to make the most of a full 50 innings, but too few of his teammates have the know-how to do the same. That’s why these next two matches, against a team containing some of the greatest ODI cricketers of all time, will be crucial to their education, no matter which side of the result they end up on.
Form Guide
England: LWWLL (last five completed matches, starting with most recent)
India: WWWWL
Spotlight: Jacob Bethell and Gurnur Brar
In his young career, Jacob Bethell has learned a lot on the fly, and overall he has been successful. An early debut as England’s third man in both New Zealand and the Ashes, a key role in the T20 World Cup in India and even a taste of white-ball captaincy at the age of 21. But an invitation to open in ODIs is perhaps the toughest assignment at the moment. His approach to more extreme formats is easier to calibrate: seeing the ball, batting in T20Is; Reduce your game to a few shots combined with reasonable rest in tests. But on Tuesday he fell between two chairs for his 14 from 31 – even though he had Bumrah to contend with at the top. But as Jamie Smith showed when he was sent to the Championship Trophy unveiling, just because you have potential in the role is no guarantee of success.
Opening his account for the first time in ODIs, Bethell scored 13 not out in Birmingham.•Pennsylvania Photo/Getty Images
Gurnoor Brar earned his chance on this trip with seven wickets in three matches against Afghanistan last month and he didn’t let anyone down with a strong performance at Edgbaston. From the start he was embroiled in a fierce duel with Ben Duckett, who took his first ball for 17 runs, but he soon found himself on the right side of the board, dismissing both openers in four-ball space to trigger England’s mid-innings collapse. His short pass to Bethell, caught at deep square leg, was perhaps the most instructive of the contest to come. These deep wicket pockets are ripe for spirited hitting.
Team news: More fast players in the future
England’s misreading of the pitch at Edgbaston was a serious mistake and one they are unlikely to make again. Despite his excellent hitting, Dawson is probably the underdog for Cardiff’s boxy dimensions and will have to turn on the extra pace option. Josh Tong and Jofra Archer have had heavy workloads – from the New Zealand Test series to five of the last six white-ball games – so one or both may need a break. Braydon Carse, a recent addition to the squad, could take the spot, while Saqib Mahmood and Gus Atkinson could be other options.
England (possible): 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Jacob Bethell, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brooke (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Josh Tang/Brydon Carse, 10 Saqib Mahmood, 11 Adil Rashid.
Brydon Carse may enter into controversy•Kai Schwerer/AFP/Getty Images
With Gill apparently in good form after his retirement on Tuesday, and having found their winning formula at Edgbaston, India have little reason to make changes. Arshdeep Singh is waiting in the wings as the bowling reinforcement.
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Axar Patel, 6 K.L. Rahul (wk), 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shivam Dube, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Gurnur Brar, 11 Prasidh Krishna.
Field and conditions:
In Cardiff’s overall ODI history, it is something of a bowl-chasing ground, with eight of the 12 matches in the last decade going to the chasing team. The ongoing heatwave in the UK will fuel another fast-moving industry.
Statistics and trivia:
- Cardiff is something of an England stronghold, with ten wins in 14 completed ODIs since 2010.
- However, India currently have a winning record of 3-1 from their four matches there. They lost to England by six wickets in 2011 but won by 133 runs on their return three years later. Meanwhile, they beat Sri Lanka and South Africa in 2013 en route to Champions Trophy glory.
- Prasidhu Krishna needs three more wickets to reach 50 in ODIs.
- Shubman Gill returns to the stadium he briefly called home after making three appearances as Glamorgan’s overseas player in September 2022.
Quotes:
“At my age, I never thought I would play as much as I did last year. Obviously I’m very happy to be playing again and hopefully I can continue to contribute.”
Liam Dawson enjoying his new life at 36 years old.
“When you see your average like that, it gives you a lot of confidence as a captain and as a top batter. It gives you confidence and means you can attack early.”
Shubman Gill enjoyed the partnership of Axar Patel and Washington Sundar at Edgbaston.
Andrew Miller is the UK editor of Cricinfo. @miller_cricket