England go 2-0 up in New Zealand as they claim the one day international series to go along with the twenty twenty series. It came as no surprise really as Ashley Giles had a much deeper squad to work with this time round than that he had in India. England were just resting one player as part of the rotation policy due to the increasing demand on international players, that player being Kevin Pietersen.
The England team should and did beat New Zealand, both teams are in dramatically different positions in the international pecking order. New Zealand are rebuilding trying to find players like Taylor who this team can be built around while England are looking to take those final steps in preparation for the Champions trophy later this year in which they are serious contenders. I believe they are just one missing piece from being serious contenders.
Assuming KP comes straight back in the team probably for the Morgan given Bell and Roots current form this is how I currently see the state of the team. You have a genuine opening bowling combination that can rival any in the world including the multiple options South Africa currently have. James Anderson took his 229 ODI wickte yesterday, he is now England's leading wicket tacker in limited overs cricket and is in the top 5 bowlers in the world. At the other end you have the less consistent but more veracious Finn who is England's strike bowler. When England sniff blood send Finn in and he will knock them over. Broad is on his way back to fitness and taking baby steps to get himself back to the world beater he was a couple of years ago. We also possess the number 1 spinner in the world and I mean number one because unlike other spinners Swann bowls in all conditions and in all scenarios.
The batting is beginning to look like one of the most settled line ups we have ever had in 50 over cricket. Bell and Cook set a good pace for England at the top and both have showed they are capable of batting for a considerable amount of time. Trott at 3 is reliable and a player you can always bank on, KP at 4 is perhaps the best one day batter in the world. Then England have unearthed its next talent Joe Root, who this winter has showed he has the mentality and skill to play at the top level. The most enjoyable thing to watch was how adaptable he is, in the second game of the series when England needed to accelerate the run rate he scored a run a ball 80. Then in the next game when England had all the time in the world they just needed someone to grind out a win he got a 56 ball 28 not out. He could potentially be the modern day Michael Beaven. Then England have put Butler at 6 which I really like considering the change of rules where the batting power play is taken in over 35. Butler is primed to take advantage of this power play which will be crucial in the champions trophy where the last power play is typically the most dangerous in England.
The final position I have not spoke about is the 5th bowling spot/ 7th batting spot. Chris Woakes took it up for this series and did a reasonable job. When he was younger he excited me because I thought he would kick on and be a bowler who bowls above 90mph and a batter who gives it a hit. Its his bowling that I still have question marks about against a good batting line up I'm not sure you could get 10 overs out of him. I would like to see Woakes go back to Warwickshire and do two things. One add another yard of pace which is needed at the next level and two be more consistent with his skills, when he bowls a yorker it needs to be accurate when he bowls a slower ball it needs to be disguised. The advantage Woakes has is this England set up abides by the law and possession is nine tenths of the law. Woakes is in possession so he will be given plenty of opportunity to go on and nail this place down.
Looking forward 10 days to the test matches I expect England to dominate the test matches and carry on from the great result they got in India. England are just 6 tests away from the opening Ashes test so every ball counts now.
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