New England white-ball coach Matthew Mott is already fighting to paper over the quacks of too many ducks among his batting big guns.
England's top-order powerhouse was undermined by six 'blobs' in the 2-1 Royal London one-day series defeat by India, who had won the Twenty20 triple-header by the same margin.
As another 50-over trilogy starts against South Africa at the Emirates Riverside on Tuesday, Mott's axis with skipper Jos Buttler must ensure early dropped stitches do not lead to wholesale unravelling of World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan's close-knit empire.
Managing director Rob Key revealed Mott was hired because he would be a safe pair of hands if Morgan retired before the World Twenty20 in Australia in October – a scenario which duly unfolded earlier this month, sooner than the Lord's ministry of foresight had expected.
Mott still consults Morgan on a near-daily basis after admitting Buttler had endured a “baptism of fire.”
And while England are flying again under Test coach Brendon McCullum and his 'Bazball' commitment to attack, Mott's era has been launched in a blaze of poor batting.
Adil Rashid, whose leg-spin sorcery was sorely missed against India, will return on Tuesday after being given special dispensation to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and Matt Potts will make his one-day debut on his home ground.
Asked to sum up his first month at the helm, Mott admitted: “Hard work is a good summary - we definitely haven't played our best cricket, there's no shying away from that. But we have an opportunity to turn that around against another very strong opposition.
“We'll have to take time to reflect on little parts - we've had passages of good play but lost wickets with the bat and a bit of momentum with the ball. There's definitely areas we can improve. We don't have long to go into it in too much detail but it has been disappointing.”
Buttler's 60 at Old Trafford was England's only half-century of the series against India, a poor return from a top five who all won the World Cup three years ago. Under the law of averages, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were probably due a fallow intermission after their astonishing plunder of 1,183 runs in four Tests between them.
But England's batting has been decorated with more ducks than the Serpentine in Hyde Park, and both Yorkies were dismissed in the second over without scoring on Sunday. Mott claimed: “Joe in particular has been unlucky, he's got some good balls and that can happen at the top of the order.
“There's no real reason I can put my finger on it, they've all hit up well, looked in good nick, and paid for little mistakes. But that's the nature of cricket, they have had a good run. I think Jos's leadership has been a baptism of fire.
“We've only been together a few weeks as captain and coach and it's developing a great rapport. He brings a nice calmness and he's shown a great deal of care, such as when leaving players out. He won't be someone who stands up and makes big speeches, he'll do it in his own quiet way.”
Asked if he saw Morgan's retirement coming after they presided over the ritual annihilation of the Netherlands last month, Mott admitred: “Not this quickly, I won't lie. But I knew he wouldn't go on forever. I felt lucky he went on that first trip to Holland - he showed me the ropes, how the team ticks.
“Most mornings I still catch up with him, say 'G'day' and get his thoughts. He'll be a great sounding board for both Jos and myself about what he's seen from the outside. He clearly loves the team. Now he's on the other side of the fence, he has a really good perspective and will give us some good feedback.
“There's no doubt his legacy is huge and his leadership is renowned. But you get judged at the end of your tenure, not at the start. We know we've been off in a couple of departments and India made us pay heavily.”
