WHAT ENGLAND LEARNED FROM T20 MASTERSTROKE
WHETHER by luck or judgement, a five-match T20 series against India just seven months out from a World Cup in the same country could be a masterstroke. If England do go on to win in November they will almost certainly point to something they learnt over the past couple of weeks in Ahmedabad, where they lost the last match on Saturday by 36 runs as India won the series 3-2.
BUTTLER IS AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE
The debate over what Jos Buttler’s best position is has surely been settled by his performances here, especially his match-winning 83* in the third game. The idea that he is so good he can do a job in the middle order better than most is a fair point, but the more balls he faces the bigger impact he can have on the game. His ability to exploit the powerplay and then use his skills to great effect once he is in will benefit England more than having him watch others try to do the same.
FORM SHOULD DEFINE TOP FOUR
England have plenty of options to join Buttler in the top four, but they will need to get the mix just right in the tournament. Jason Roy showed here that he can get on top of spin bowling early and found some form, but he needs to get into rhythm ahead of the tournament and carry that through. Dawid Malan’s performances added fuel to the theory that on quicker, bouncier pitches he is world class but on stickier, slower ones he could get stuck. England need to be prepared to tinker with the personnel based on the conditions and moving Ben Stokes up to open or three should be up for serious consideration.
BOWLING NEEDS DEFENCE AND ATTACK
There is no doubt that England’s attacking bowling in the powerplay took a step forward in this series. But what happens when the attacking option doesn’t quite work? England’s defensive bowling wasn’t at its best in this series. They failed to defend a total the one time they were asked to, and in the final two matches they leaked runs heavily at the death of India’s innings. Chris Jordan had a tricky series and Tom Curran was given just one game. The death bowling needs a bit of refreshing.
WHO IS THE SECOND ALL-ROUNDER?
A sixth bowler is a must to help give Eoin Morgan more options on the day. Sam Curran did the job here, but was not trusted to step up further when other bowlers were having a rough day. His movement down the order with the bat behind Chris Jordan may have been to do with the number of left-handed batsmen in the team, which could bring Sam Billings back into the reckoning – especially if England find a way of getting another bowler into the top six. The lack of game time for Moeen Ali was eyebrow-raising to say the least. They should also not totally rule out Joe Root.