Even though they won the first Test series against New Zealand and lost the
second to South Africa, England will this week finish the summer in stronger
shape than they started it. The crucial point is that they are now playing
under one captain, Kevin Pietersen, who is brimful of energy and
self-belief, whereas back in May they were in the hands of two leaders who
were struggling: by his own admission, Michael Vaughan returned from New
Zealand mentally frail, while Paul Collingwood’s form was creaking under the
strain of a damaged shoulder.
No question, Pietersen has the Midas touch, but in truth so much about a
successful team depends on sound minds and bodies. England are winning again
principally because Steve Harmison is back bowling well for a management
team that he knows believes in him and Andrew Flintoff is fit again. When
Flintoff is the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker, it should be no
surprise that England lead a one-day series 3-0.
The decisive phase of Friday’s series-deciding game at The Oval was the three
wickets South Africa lost as Harmison and Flintoff put on the squeeze
between the 14th and 21st overs. “It is very easy captaining guys bowling
over 90mph,” Pietersen said yesterday as his players enjoyed a day off ahead
of today’s dead rubber at Lord’s. “They are putting so much pressure on
South Africa. This is the strongest one-day bowling unit I have played with.”
That said, it is clear England chose the right captain in Pietersen. When
things need shaking up, often it is best to bring in an outsider. It worked
when Duncan Fletcher was brought in as coach in 1999 and it is working now
with another southern African casting a fresh eye over things in Pietersen.
Not much reading between the lines was necessary as Pietersen explained how
he was challenging his players to get the most out of their games. He hinted
at dressing-room complacency, not just in English county cricket but even in
the Test arena.
“Everyone talks about their talent in the dressing room,” he said. “The great
thing is for these guys to do it day in day out on the field. There is a lot
of mediocrity that people settle for in this country in terms of county
cricket and the comfort zone of international cricket. I want to get better
and better . . . there is loads of people who do have it [the same desire]
but lots of guys who are there or thereabouts. That’s my challenge, to bring
the best out of guys like Ian Bell, Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Luke Wright,
James Anderson and Stuart Broad, day in day out.”
Pietersen puts his burning desire to improve down to his upbringing. He may
also be buying into the view of coach Peter Moores that the players need
regularly “challenging”. Before he took over, Pietersen was believed to be
among those players not altogether happy at Moores’s approach. Now he seems
to have switched sides. Pietersen’s stock may have risen after four wins out
of four against South Africa but so, subtly, has Moores’s.
Right now, anything seems possible. If England win at Lord’s today and under
the Swalec stadium’s floodlights in Cardiff on Wednesday, they will have
beaten major one-day opponents 5-0 for the first time. They will also,
rather improba-bly, move into second place in the one-day rankings.
Pietersen must be wishing the Champions Trophy was going ahead in Pakistan
after all.
Time, perhaps, for a reality-check. The life has gone out of South Africa.
Their captain has been brought down by injury. Jacques Kal-lis is no
stand-in, as he showed by giving Samit Patel such an easy ride in his first
international innings.
Eleven years ago, too, England went through an exhilarating few weeks under
their newish coach David Lloyd, during which they trounced Australia in
three ODIs and a Test match in Birmingham. Yet neither the golden run nor
the euphoria lasted. The Ashes were still lost and two years later England
turned up for the World Cup looking like a pantomime horse.
Is this latest XI really likely to last? England thought they were going
places when last year they won the CB Series in Australia and a one-day
series in Sri Lanka, yet there are only three survivors from the former and
six from the latter. Why should this team prove any more durable? Much, as
always, depends on whether England have solved their Schleswig-Holstein
question, what should their top order do during powerplays? They have
chopped and changed strategy so often it is little wonder the batting is so
inconsistent. Ian Bell, for instance, is on his fifth spell as opener and at
10 innings the latest is easily the longest. In 22 innings, he has had six
partners.
In Bell and Matthew Prior though, England appear to have alighted on a pair
whose styles complement each other and who are technically good enough to
survive the new ball, although it is hard to tell on this second point as
South Africa have bowled so poorly in the past 10 days, during which Bell
and Prior have posted stands of 77, 85 (unbroken) and 101. Asked what he
thought of powerplays, Pietersen said: “I don’t believe in pinch-hit-ters. I
think they work 20% of the time. There’s a lot made out of powerplays but we
don’t need to go aerial, just play decent cricket shots, keep our heads and
keep the momentum going. The guys I’ve got at the top of the order are the
guys I want to keep at the top.”
Keeping Harmison on the road will be another crucial factor. Harmison has
committed himself to all cricket in India and the Caribbean this winter,
though words are one thing, deeds another. How upright will his shoulders be
come the seventh ODI in Delhi in December? Winning half a million quid in
Antigua might smooth the ride.
Pietersen confirmed that Harmison, not wanting to shoulder aside a deserving
colleague, had offered to sit out the Stanford Challenge but Pietersen
intended to support his selection anyway. “The hard yards he’s putting in
now, he deserves to have a crack at that [match]. He has every right to
play.”
Today, Pietersen returns to Lord’s as captain for the first time since losing
there to New Zealand at the end of June when he deputised for the suspended
Collingwood. “I took that match too seriously and tried too hard,” he
reflected. “I was unsure how to handle things and put pressure on myself.
Now that I’ve taken the job [full time] I’ve just thought, ‘Do your best and
trust your gut’.” So far, his guts have served him pretty well.
England’s changing fortunes
Andrew Flintoff is fit again. He has scored 156 and taken seven wickets in
three games Steve Harmison has come out of retirement and given a cutting
edge to the attack Kevin Pietersen has galvanised the dressing-room as
leader Matt Prior has made a near-flawless return to the side - 120 runs and
12 dismissals The team has five all-rounders, providing plenty of options
QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN
Do England have the bowlers to do well on Asian pitches this winter and at the
2011 World Cup? Pinch-hitting remains the preferred option in Asia. How will
England's openers fare there? Has James Anderson lost his knack with the new
white ball? He has 10 wickets in 14 ODIs this year
