‘morgan’s the key to a changed side’

Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali tell Chris Stocks that the captain has changed England’s mindset since the World Cup debacle

Moeen Ali knows how far England have come since the last World Cup having been an integral part of the team who were humiliatingly knocked out in the first round.

Two years is a long time in cricket, though, and the man who opened for his country during that 2015 humbling in Australia and New Zealand is looking ahead to next month’s Champions Trophy on home soil with confidence.

“As a team we are very happy with ourselves at the moment in terms of where we are,” says Ali. “It’s really positive and we’re playing good cricket. Everyone in the changing room has a very similar mindset in terms of how they want to play their cricket – they want to go out and take that attacking option and always be positive.

“We just need to get a bit smarter if we want to get better because there have been times when we haven’t been so smart. But we are getting better at that as well.

“There is so much talent in the squad. We have come a very long way since the World Cup. It’s great for people who come and watch us.”

England’s renaissance since the World Cup started three months after they were knocked out after defeat by Bangladesh in Adelaide.

The 2015 one-day series against New Zealand, which saw England pass 400 for the first time in the opening match at Edgbaston, opened the floodgates and despite not always showing enough ‘smartness’, they have genuine hopes of landing a first ODI title next month.

England’s Champions Trophy campaign starts at The Oval on June 1 against the very opponents who humiliated them at the last 50-over tournament – Bangladesh.

The link between the campaigns is Eoin Morgan, who has reinvented himself from the sullen, detached and almost lost figure seen during the World Cup.

Adil Rashid, speaking alongside close friend and team-mate Ali at the launch of the Cricket Has No Boundaries campaign, was not involved in that tournament.

But the leg spinner has no doubt who has been instrumental in England’s recovery since then.

“The way Morgs has captained has seen a big change because his mindset is so positive,” said Rashid. “He’s quite a laid-back character as well so he doesn’t really get flustered or frustrated even if our body language is down. He’s very level-headed. He has a big impact on the team.”

Although Rashid made his one-day debut in 2009, he has only become a regular in the team over the past two years and he knows just how dangerous England can be.

“If you look at one to eleven, all our players are match-winners – every single one of them,” he says. “Just by being allowed to take that positive option, the backing of the captain and coaches which allows people to express themselves and play how we want to play.”

With spin playing such an integral part in modern white-ball cricket, Rashid could, if England go far, be one of the stars of the tournament. But the 29-year-old is not going to worry about living up to anyone’s expectations other than his own.

“Whatever happens I’ll train and practise hard,” he says. “I’ll try and spin the ball both ways, be attacking and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. If it’s not, it’s not.

“So I won’t think I have to perform and I need to get wickets or I need to make sure I have a good tournament here because that’s just putting pressure on myself. I’ll just have a positive, clear mindset in the games and do my variations. If it comes off then great. If it doesn’t, it’s not a problem.

“That’s just life. It is a game of cricket. You obviously want to win but there’s more to life as well.

“There’s no point beating yourself up about it too much, putting too many expectations on yourself. It’s taken time (to get that mindset) – more so the last five or six years.You want to perform, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t.”

Ali interjects: “Definitely he’s matured a lot more – even over the last year, year and a half.”

For Ali, maturity is something that he has had to show over recent years having been shifted around England’s teams across all formats like an unwanted sofa.

He has opened in 50-over and Test cricket, batted in every position from three to eight and now has his place in the team for the Champions Trophy under threat because of Joe Root’s performances as a second spinner in the recent series against Ireland.

“There might be grounds where they might go for an extra batter – with Joe as second spinner,” says Moeen.

“It’s part of the game, part of your career. There are times when you’re dropped, then come back in. So I just keep working hard, and I feel like in one-day cricket I’ve been bowling quite well but just not picking up the wickets.”

Ali and Rashid struggled with their bowling during the Test series in Bangladesh and India last winter.

“India’s a tough place to bowl, they play spin very well and that’s what they did and we obviously got hammered,” admits Ali. “I didn’t pick up the wickets I would have liked to. But that can happen. I feel like I’m getting better.

“I’m not a great spinner but I’m getting better all the time. I’m much more comfortable as a cricketer than I was three years ago.”

There is, of course, the bigger picture in terms of the future of the game in this country and Ali believes this England team are becoming more attractive to a wider spectrum of the population.

He says: “We have so much diversity in our team, people from all sorts of different backgrounds – people with tattoos, players with beards from Asian backgrounds, baby-faced Joe Root, a captain who is from Ireland. So all people can relate to us, not just in England but worldwide.”

Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were speaking at the launch of NatWest’s ‘Cricket Has No Boundaries’ campaign that celebrates the sport’s inclusivity. NatWest is the new Principal Partner of England Cricket. Find out more at natwest.com/cricket #NoBoundaries

He has a big impact on the team. If you look at one to eleven, all our players are match-winners – every single one of them