England face Pakistan in end of era game on Saturday after WORST Cricket World Cup performance ever… as Dawid Malan admits wholesale selection changes can help ‘give experience’ to the next generation
- The match against Pakistan looks like the end of a cricketing era for England
- Dawid Malan admits that looking to ‘build a team’ for 2027 now is important
- Wholesale changes are expected after England’s worst World Cup performance
England’s one-day side will go into the last game of their disastrous World Cup with Dawid Malan – their most successful batsman – admitting a ‘total overhaul’ of the team would be fully justified.
The clash with Pakistan at Eden Gardens, one of cricket’s most evocative venues, was supposed to be a chance to fine-tune preparations ahead of next week’s semi-finals.
Instead, with two wins out of eight constituting England’s worst ever performance at a World Cup, the match looks more like the end of an era that began with Eoin Morgan’s revolution in 2015.
Managing director Rob Key is in town, and the white-ball squads for the pre-Christmas tour of the Caribbean could be named as early as Sunday.
But while several members of this World Cup squad are expected to form part of England’s T20 title defence next year in the USA and the West Indies, the 50-over party could have a very different look – no matter that Key recently handed out a batch of new multi-year central contracts.
England have endured their worst-ever World Cup with two wins out of eight and sweeping changes are expected
Even though Rob Key handed out a batch of new multi-year central contracts, the next 50-over party could have a very different look
Dawid Malan wants to play for ‘as long as’ he possibly can, but recognises that wholesale changes are justified to ‘give experience’ to the next generation
Quite how radical he and his fellow selectors will be remains to be seen. But 11 of England’s underperforming 15-man squad in India are the wrong side of 30, and preparation needs to start now for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
At 36, Malan is the second-oldest here – behind only Moeen Ali – though that hasn’t stopped him topping England’s run-charts, with 373 at 46 and a strike-rate of 103.
But, asked whether wholesale changes in the one-day team would be an over-reaction to a hapless few weeks, he replied: ‘Probably not. When you’ve not performed as well as you would have liked, they might move on totally and keep some experienced players around to help guide the young players.
‘They have two years to the Champions Trophy and four years to the next World Cup to build a team, give the guys experience and allow them to fail and learn.’
Malan, whose 29 ODIs have brought him an impressive average of 56, may yet finish his 50-over career with the nagging sense that he might have been given many more chances to show his class.
But he said he would ‘100 percent’ understand if Key tells him his services are no longer required.
‘You’re quite realistic when you get to a certain stage,’ he said. ‘I still feel like I’m playing my best cricket and scoring runs against the best bowlers in the world.
‘I’d like to play for England for as long as I possibly can. But if the situation arises where that’s not the case, then I’ve still had a good career.’
Malan suggested any pressure on Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott was simply ‘external noise’, and insisted Buttler remained ‘the right man to lead’.
‘Jos is one of the best leaders I’ve played under, especially with all the criticism that’s gone around,’ he said. ‘As a leader, sometimes things go well. But Jos has always held his hand up if things have gone wrong and that’s a hallmark of a good leader.’
England’s victory over the Netherlands, followed by New Zealand’s straightforward win over Bangladesh, ought to have simplified matters.
Preparation for the 2027 World Cup starts now and Malan would ‘100 per cent’ understand if he were not in Key’s plans
Eleven of England’s underperforming 15-man squad in India are the wrong side of 30
Change to this underperforming England team is inevitable – it’s just a question of how much
Jos Buttler is still ‘one of the best leaders I’ve played under’, says Malan, despite the pressure mounting on him
Unless Bangladesh beat Australia in Saturday’s other game, and the Netherlands stun India on Sunday, England will secure the top-eight finish they need to limp into the 2025 Champions Trophy simply by avoiding a thumping.
Pakistan are clinging on to the infinitesimal hope of a semi-final place, but that would require victory by an absurd margin – around 287 runs if they bat first.
‘I would say if Fakhar Zaman is in the match for 20 or 30 overs, we can achieve that,’ said their captain Babar Azam, optimistically.
Eden Gardens has played host to two agonising World Cup final defeats. In 1987, Mike Gatting’s infamous reverse-sweep derailed their chase against Australia, and seven years ago Ben Stokes was hit for four last-over sixes by West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite.
This time, the bar has dropped so low that they are simply trying to finish ahead of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. Change is inevitable – it’s just a question of how much.
Possible teams
England: 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Jos Buttler (capt, wkt), 6 Harry Brook, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Gus Atkinson, 11 Adil Rashid.
Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Agha Salman, 8 Hassan Ali, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Mohammad Wasim, 11 Haris Rauf.
Source: Read Full Article