As England’s white-ball squad gathered in Dhaka there was widespread optimism that the ODI series could be won. There was also recognition that in unfamiliar conditions and against a side with a formidable home record the path to success would not be straightforward.
Two contrasting victories later the tourists have done it with a game to spare, and banked a significant morale boost before a World Cup to be played in similar conditions. That October tournament seems distant, but opportunities to impress in this format are rare. Monday’s final ODI in Chittagong will have no bearing on the outcome of this series, but it could have an enormous impact on the players involved.
The squad, with a couple of minor tweaks, will launch straight into a three-game T20 series on Thursday, but the next England ODI is six months away, by which time their squad for the World Cup will have to be almost finalised. The first of four encounters with New Zealand in September comes a few days before the deadline to submit the list to the ICC.
Nor will there be many opportunities in the English domestic summer for these players to prove their prowess over 50 overs. As was the case last year, most fixtures in the Royal London One-Day Cup will be played in August while these players, if not resting, are likely to be otherwise engaged with the Hundred. It is a competition that current England internationals are rarely seen in: Ben Stokes last played in 2014, Jos Buttler in 2016, Joe Root has played once since 2017, and Moeen Ali and Sam Curran not at all since 2018.
On this tour Dawid Malan, Jason Roy and Curran have produced performances that may have removed any question mark alongside their name on the longlist, but for others whose place is uncertain this could be a last chance.
There are many more opportunities to play T20 cricket, and Matthew Mott, England’s white-ball coach, feels the technical requirements of the two formats are similar. Asked about his side for this year’s World Cup the day after he won the last one, he predicted that “the way we set our team up, it’s not going to be too much different. Our white-ball teams will come pretty close together.”
Phil Salt, David Willey, Reece Topley and Will Jacks are among those with IPL deals but on the margins of the World Cup squad for whom a successful tournament in India this spring, played on the same grounds to be visited in the autumn, would be difficult to ignore.
“There’s so much T20 cricket and I think it’s pretty similar,” says Curran, whose efforts in Australia last autumn helped secure a £1.85m IPL deal, of the two formats. “It’s just an extended version.”
Twelve months ago Curran would not have been considered an automatic pick for England’s T20 side, but emerged to end the year with the World Cup player of the tournament award. “You’ve just got to take one game at a time and keep performing,” Curran says of pre-tournament pressure.
“There’s not much one-day cricket coming up after this series, so whichever team I’m playing for it’s about just enjoying my cricket, not putting too much pressure on myself and whatever happens in the summer and leading on, we’ll see.”
The pressure of attempting to crowbar your way into a squad for an imminent major tournament may be significant, but it is also near-constant. England have waited four years for a chance to defend the ODI title they won at home in 2019, but there have been two T20 World Cups since then, with another scheduled for next year. “There are,” Curran says, “a lot of World Cups around.”
But also a lot of players vying to play in them. Of England’s bowlers on this tour Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Topley and Curran have spent significant periods of the last year injured, with hairline fractures of the spine at one stage spreading among the nation’s bowlers like the most virulent of infectious diseases, but that crisis appears to be over.
“It’s a quality squad,” Curran adds. “There are guys on the Test tour to come back in as well. Everyone has had a tough couple of years with injury, and everyone is pleased to see the quality of bowlers we have around.
“You saw how well the Test team bowled, too. It’s a great time and hopefully we can all stay fit and give the captain and coach some good decisions to make. As bowlers we just want to perform and be in that 15 they take to the World Cup. Conditions will then dictate if the team needs extra spin or pace, but it’s about enjoying yourself and not feeling too much pressure.”
