What England must do to come out on top
Morgan’s men can learn from history as they try to break global ODI tournament drought
Have self-belief
For a team with such a poor record in global tournaments as England, the first hurdle is belief. Eoin Morgan’s team should have that coursing through their veins after their two years of dramatic improvement. But past failures haunt and Paul Collingwood, the captain of England’s winning World Twenty20 side, said it had been the first challenge for his team to overcome. “For three weeks before, I said forget about technique and everything else. It was about the mental side and confidence. We did not want to focus on any weaknesses. Remember what your strengths are and we back you to live up to them. Forget about how we approached things in the past. It has not worked, so we may as well do something different.”
Gary Kirsten, who coached India to win the 2011 World Cup, revealed afterwards how long it had taken for the mental process to take shape. “We started talking the language we wanted to introduce in the World Cup over a year ago,” he said. “Everything we did leading into the World Cup was around us finding ourselves in that situation in the World Cup. We spoke that language day in, day out.”
Find the right characters
How will a player react under pressure? How will he handle those moments in a final, or semi-final, upon which reputations are made or lost? Some players love those moments, they live for them. Others merge into the background and are happy to be part of the collective. England will need both.
“The characters you want are those who know their game exceptionally well. Just because you are an international cricketer, it does not mean you know your game inside out,” said John Buchanan, who won three World Cups and one Champions Trophy as coach of Australia from 19992007. “You want guys who have a capacity to follow a roller-coaster pattern of intense matches followed by rest so they know how to get themselves up physically, mentally and tactically. It means they are pretty resilient around performance, so if they play well or badly they can forget it because they know the most important game is the next one.”
At the 2010 World Twenty20, Collingwood urged his players to make the most of the Caribbean surroundings. “We had a seriously relaxed environment. We trained hard but there was a big emphasis on recharging the batteries by doing whatever works for you,” he said. “If that was a pina colada round the pool or playing golf, just do it.”
Go on the attack
England’s message from coach Trevor Bayliss will be clear: attack. “I haven’t seen a team win a global tournament playing defensively,” he said. “It’s always a team that backs itself and plays bold cricket. You have to take the good with the bad and be a bit flexible.”
Collingwood’s team were well drilled. Michael Lumb and Craig Kieswetter were cleared to hit the new ball, Kevin Pietersen to play his own game, the seamers and spinners had specific jobs. “You win by being on the aggressive side of the line rather than the conservative side,” Collingwood said. “Kieswetter and Lumb were there to get us off to a fast start, not go on and get 80 or 100.
“The seam bowlers bowled the first six overs and that was a specific heavy length at the top of the stumps over middle and off. Then the spinners would come on straight after that and Yardy [Michael Yardy] and Swanny [Graeme Swann] were brilliant at keeping the runs down and creating pressure through dot balls. The last five overs was seamers with variations of slowerball bouncers and the odd yorker. Roles are very important. Knowing your role 100 per cent and also your team-mates recognising what your role is. If it is your job to take an off-spinner down in the first or second over and you got out, we knew that was his role, so there was no blame.”
Preen some feathers
All tournament-winning teams have a world-class player they need to get the best out of. England had Kevin Pietersen in 2010, India
M S Dhoni in 2011 and Buchanan’s
side were almost an entire XI of superstars. Kirsten recognised his was a background role. Dhoni ran the show. Collingwood and Andy Flower gave Pietersen the opportunity to be himself. “KP had a natural ability to hit through the infield without taking major risks,” said Collingwood. Kirsten and Dhoni respected each other’s roles. “He leads by example. He always gives the team 100 per cent of his effort and his energy,” said Kirsten. “He never loses his temper. He is a great strategist. He has got fantastic ideas on the field. And he canvasses opinions and then he makes his own assessments.”
Be stubborn
The Champions Trophy is a “ruthless” tournament, according to Buchanan, because one defeat can spell the end. England showed a lack of flexibility in going hard at the swinging ball against South Africa at Lord’s on Monday but Morgan does not want them to change. Is he right? “It is still all about who prepares the best for the tournament, who gets into the tournament quicker than anybody else, who develops a good strong game plan that they stick by,” Buchanan said. “They will make some adjustment for conditions and the opposition, but will be very fixed on their own game and how best to deliver that.”
Superstars help
Finally, you need great players. Leicester City won the Premier League without a global star but all World Cup-winning cricket teams have at least two or three. “The best players do not get distracted by the scoreboard, crowd or whether it is a semi-final or final,” said Buchanan, who had Shane Warne, Glenn Mcgrath and Adam Gilchrist at his disposal. “They want to be on the highest-possible stage so they can show everybody how good they are. There is always a desire to be there.”