Roy return can turbocharge Morgan’s side and inject life into spluttering campaign
If England can beat India today they will lay down powerful marker for the rest of the tournament
It is time for England to let their cricket do the talking. It has been a messy week for performance on and off the field. The only way they put it to bed is by playing well and matching their own high standards against India today. English sports teams are always dangerous when they are billed as underdogs and India are favourites to win today. We have always had that “prove you wrong” mentality and maybe that is just what England need to draw on to put their World Cup campaign back on track.
This is now a great chance to prove they are a team who can win a World Cup. I believe that if they beat India it will go a long way towards helping England win the tournament because the confidence and belief they would gain from performing under extreme pressure on the back of two losses would prove they have a lot of mental strength and character.
It would also mean a number of players have rediscovered their form because you rarely beat a team such as India through the odd individual performance. It takes a collective effort. Then they could move on to the New Zealand game next Wednesday full of confidence.
You cannot control a great deal in cricket, only your own emotions and game. But England have been distracted by things on the outside they cannot control.
I do not understand why they have done that. They have to accept people are saying England are not coping with the pressure because results and performances prove that but they have a great chance today to change that perception.
England have beaten this India one-day team over the past couple of
years but this is different. At this stage of a World Cup, and after a couple of poor defeats, is when this England team will be judged.
Those bilateral series count for nothing now. Can you focus your mind, just watch the ball and be intelligent in the way you play under this kind of pressure when your team’s World Cup place is on the line?
Jason Roy’s return will be massive. He has that ego and arrogance you need. I love those kinds of players. It does not matter if it is Jasprit Bumrah bowling, Mohammed Shami or Yuzvendra Chahal. He thinks after a couple of balls he will start clubbing them for four or six. England need him because he is the one player able to continue playing his natural game.
It is the engine room that needs to be a bit more intelligent. Ben Stokes has been magnificent because he has read situations but Jos Buttler has not fired as consistently as we expect.
England need a good start and that means batting first, getting runs on the board and trying to defend a total in the afternoon. They cannot be 20 for three. Game over then.
Solid starts have been the hallmark of this England side for a couple of years. A hundred for one has been their way. They have to focus their minds on trying to read the pitch early. The top two will always be given the freedom to attack but it is worth them having a look for two or three overs to gauge the conditions like they did against Bangladesh in Cardiff.
They played brilliantly in that game. They were only 15 without loss after five overs but they then came to life. England play their best cricket when they have a look first because they have all the shots to catch up and hit it all over the place.
The problem is they are playing the most consistent team in the tournament and one who could be improved by a tweak in selection.
If India pick Rishabh Pant at seven for Kedar Jadhav or Vijay Shankar, push all the others up with MS Dhoni at five, Hardik Pandya at six then they are a better side straight away. But if England can dislodge India’s top three I do not think they have a great deal to follow. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are two of the best in the world, Dhoni is a very experienced pro and will always get them a score, Pandya is a tremendous striker of a ball but years ago it was all about India’s batting. Now they are a good side because their bowling is outstanding. Their attack has everything covered and they are good in the field.
I want to see England be braver in the field and squeeze and push India. A sure sign a team are struggling is when their fielding drops off and that has happened to England.
When England are playing well, the team operate as one in the field. They pressurise the opposition and look well oiled. In the last couple of games it has looked disjointed.
You approach Bumrah by being patient early on. They have all faced him before. They know his awkward action and angle into the stumps. Roy is pivotal to Bumrah because he gets over to off stump and whacks it through the on side. That is the way to hit him. If you are chasing, do not leave too much, too late because Bumrah is outstanding at the death – you have to be up with the rate.
It is a huge challenge today but winning would set England up for the last leg of the tournament when they could put to bed all the problems of the past couple of weeks.