Things about England teams usually carry a lot of hype. Every time their football team goes to a big event, they are spoken about in the same breath as the favourites by their fans. Inevitably, they stumble. Friendly win against Germany starts talks “soon to be champions.” Defeat against The Netherlands is termed as “perfect wake-up call.”
England cricketers, unlike their footballers, don’t often hog the limelight. Apart from the Ashes, other events hardly seem to matter to the English press. In limited-over formats, for long they lived in hope that the team would some day play a brand of cricket that makes people take notice.
They tried, with wrong men in charge, and by choosing wrong players and suffered. A year ago, Alastair Cook’s team failed to qualify for the second stage of the World Cup, raising questions over the way they play the modern game. They were branded old school and seen as kids competing with wizards. Then something changed. For the first time, the board turned to an Australian — Trevor Bayliss — as coach.
After regaining Ashes on home soil, captain Cook wasn’t too keen to acknowledge his role so soon. “Trevor has just turned up. Let’s not give too much credit,” he had said on a lighter note.
But when it comes to their limited-over resurgence, credit should go to Bayliss for transforming underachievers into potential world beaters. In many ways, he has been to England what Gary Kirsten was to India. Unlike predecessors Andy Flower or Peter Moores, he hasn’t been on the forefront and chosen to remain backstage with his rest of support staff.
For a team that relied heavily on data on opponents to look for solutions, this side seems to have concentrated more on basic elements. As they arrived at Eden Gardens on Friday evening for practice, they appeared relaxed and charged up. Video analysts were not around and the players warmed up with football before doing some knocking. Despite them winning the WT20 in 2010, one always had the feeling they were playing cricket from a different era.
Not this team under Eoin Morgan, not with the likes of Joe Root and Jos Buttler around. And definitely not with Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Alex Hales and Jason Roy in the side. There is plenty of firepower and players who can win matches on their own. After losing the opening fixture to West Indies, it seemed the old story of faltering in big events will reappear. But England’s willpower and firebrand cricket have dispelled that notion. They don’t panic chasing 200-plus totals or give up if they lose six for 57.
They know they have players who can rescue them, no matter how big the hole is. “We found ways of winning games which is really important. We found ourselves in a number of difficult situations that we have overcome. It means that whatever happens in the final, we would have been in that situation before in the tournament. We have experience to go back upon, ways that we have been successful,” said Root.
“Morgan has been fantastic in one-day cricket and T20s. We have not taken a step back, but kept going forward. That’s a massive factor of how we got here. Guys have gone out and been brave. If we continue to do that, we will continue to improve,” said the Yorkshire batsman about England’s journey in which he has played a major part.