Five lessons for the Champions Trophy

Eoin Morgan’s every instinct is to attack and he is ice cool under pressure, whether batting or advising his bowlers at the death. The Champions Trophy is a knockout tournament and a cool head will be needed. He reads the game when batting or in the field but, most importantly, he is in nick. All England teams need the captain in form, and rarely has one been so ready for a tournament as Morgan is right now.

Jason Roy has been given the role to attack the new ball. It is a job that requires confidence, something he has lost in recent months. He was beaten for pace by Kagiso Rabada in Southampton and was out playing a nothing, halfdrive at Lord’s, a sign of the tentitiveness caused by low scores. England will not shuffle the pack so close to a global tournament, which is bad news for Jonny Bairstow but good for Roy. An opening match at the Oval against Bangladesh might just arrive at the right time for him.

England are a good hitting side. They can destroy opponents and the attacking inventiveness is a wonderful change from the past. But when the ball is swinging and a little more application is required England are vulnerable. There are times when fearless cricket has to be replaced by sensible cricket. A score at Lord’s of 220 could have been a winner if England had bowled well with the new ball. Instead, players fell playing firm shots to fulllength balls.

England are not the same team without Ben Stokes. He lends a balance to the white-ball team, allowing them to pick two spinners, is the top scorer in 50-over cricket since the start of last September and prowls around in the fielding positions that are key to different bowlers. England have plenty of all-rounders, but they do not have another Ben Stokes.

Liam Plunkett, with his pace and back-of-a-length bounce has become crucial. He takes wickets and keeps the run rate down. Chris Woakes has the variation of deliveries needed in this batsman-dominated era and Mark Wood the skiddy pace that can be expensive, but takes wickets. They are a very solid threesome. But the reserves have a long way to go. Jake Ball is learning his craft and David Willey is unthreatening when there is no swing.