How can England avoid a one-day series whitewash in India?

It is not a great time to be an England cricket fan at present. In fact, going back to the 5-0 Ashes mauling by Australia the winter before last it is fair to say there have been far more lows than highs.

Just lately, though, it appears fortunes have nosedived yet further. That debacle of a Stanford Super Series in the West Indies proved how tacky it is when players represent their country for the lure of lucre rather than the pride of wearing the national jersey.

That embarrassing episode has swiftly been followed by mauling after mauling in the one-day international series in India. The hosts have already wrapped up the seven-match series with three games to go. Nothing to play for? Don't bet on it. England would say (Andrew Flintoff has) that they are playing for pride. A counter-point would be to argue they are playing to avoid total and utter humiliation.

There is no pattern to the play or team selection of the touring side. One moment Matthew Prior is chosen to open the batting, the next he finds himself down at eight, the same could be said of Ravi Bopara and certain others. Defeat follows defeat and the knee-jerk reaction is to mess around with everything, throw all the pieces up in the air and hope at some stage they fall down in the right order.

And let's not mention the bowling, it's painful enough already. True Monty Panesar cannot bat or field to international standards, but are we so blinkered to dismiss him as a one-day player for England out of hand when our opponents are capacle of racking up a score approaching 400 in 50 overs?

Study the results of the four matches with India so far, if you dare.

1st ODI v India at Rajkot - November 14, 2008
India won by 158 runs
India 387/5 (50 overs); England 229 (37.4 overs)

2nd ODI v India at Indore - November 17, 2008
India won by 54 runs
India 292/9 (50 overs); England 238 (47 overs)

3rd ODI v India at Kanpur - November 20, 2008
India won by 16 runs (D/L method)
England 240 (48.4/49 overs); India 198/5 (40/40 overs)

4th ODI v India at Bangalore - November 23, 2008
India won by 19 runs (D/L method)
India 166/4 (22/22 overs); England 178/8 (22/22 overs)

The optimist might argue that we appear to be getting better. Others would say that 7-0 now looks a fair bet, with the next whipping due to be handed out at Cuttack on Wednesday.

As always, it's over to you, our loyal band of Line and Length readers, to come up with the solution. Put yourself in the shoes of the England selectors. Firstly, how would you go about avoiding a one-day series whitewash, and what do you think are the prospects for the upcoming Test series against a side that is fresh off beating Australia, the best in the world, 2-0?

Comments

[Faustino]

Whitewash avoided; the Times of India reports that England have abandoned the tour and are returning to England following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

[Skolnick]

Several things to be done:
1.Give England a 100-run headstart in each game.
2. Ask Indian pacers to bowl at half-speed.
3. Indian batsman have to retire after making 50 runs.
4. Indians cant hit more than 10 sixes per innings.
5. Bring back Ian Botham in the Engish side.
6. Every English batsman should be allowed to bat twice.

After all this done, England should pray that they don't lose again!

[Daya]

England has to remember to play the game, with dignity.
Forget the Stanford- hearing the interviews of Flintoff and Harmison about joining IPL- I could hear the slurping and salivating at the riches that beckon! The patronising talks by KP et al, is almost sickening. And even the commentary- hear Nick Knight's commentary, with many 'isn't it's- it is almost checking everytime whether what he is saying is right and acceptable-Cricket is well on the path of being a glorified bitch.
Well, I am a cricket fan and was looking for a competitive sports- but now I am not so sure. India have definitely got a world class team now and do not know how long their heads will stay on their shoulders- only chance of beating them! Or ask Atherton ( sorry, I love your other insights) with England 'to dominate' or Boycott (ever the foolish comments- but claim to fame as murderer of cricket as fun) 'best chance to beat India'.

[Shankar]

How do you avoid a 7-0 whitewash - hope and pray India slip up somehow as i dont think any changes this England team does will alter the result in any way.

Apologies to all passionate followers of English cricket here but the impression from an Indian point of view is that English cricketers and media covering the game are caught up in a time warp where the Ashes (where another thrashing is imminent) is the only contest worth talking about all the time. It is fashionable to run down the IPL as being crass and commercialised but the fact of the matter is that apart from perhaps Flintoff,KP and possibly Mascarenhas (as may well be evidenced by the interest shown by the IPL franchisees), i dont think any player from this current England line up will make the cut for the standard of play there. And as a last point, apart from this team being short on talent, they are grossly underprepared for playing a quality team like India. It perhaps stems from the lack of importance attached to visiting places like India. It will not be too surprising if this whitewash is forgotten quickly and talk shifts to how the Ashes has to be won back! Apologies again if it sounds harsh but England will struggle until there is a change of mindset.

[Shyam]

OK....ENOUGH...ENGLAND TEAM IS PASSING THRU A VERY BAD PHASE AND
ITS DUTY OF TRUE SPORTSMEN TO ENCOURAGE THE TEAM TO RESOLVE THE CRISIS AND DO BETTER IN THE REST OF MATCHES. THIS IS A GAME...NOT A WAR !!!

[Cricketfan]

To be honest, England have never been a great team - be it tests or ODI. They've never won an ODI tournament of importance and have won the Ashes like twice in the last 25 years or so? Then, whats all the fuss about?

[Scuba]

Maybe England needs a few more South African players in their team. Worked out well with the captaincy, and it seems SA has no need, or no desire to give these men a go. Fast-track the nationalisation of SA players excelling in the county championship - Rudolph, Van Jaarsveld, De Bruyn, McLaren, Ackerman - and maybe the 'English' team will become competitive again. SA can spare the players, and Lord knows they don't want to go home with all the crime and shady politics.

[Arthur]

I said it long before England arrived in India, that this tour will show KP up! Of all the comments displayed, not one word mentioning Gary Kirsten, the India coach. He has done wonders to the Indian team. KP should consult with him, given the fact that they are both South Africans. Good to see they have a fresh approach to cricket, in both the ODI's & the Test's.

[RajasH]

what ever happen to D.Mascharanes ?
dump all England players at the IPL HQ and look for fresh blood

[vinod]

It appears to be a tragic story for the English team in India.I think, in India, there is a lot of passion invested in cricket and, indeed, money. In England,as my understanding goes,there are other sports people, advertisers and media can follow with a lot of interest - soccer, rugby, car racing and the like. Cricket is just a 'national game' and a gentlemanly one! For money, the players have to have recourse to the Stanford Series, as we have seen. The big boss of cricket in India - BCCI - is the richest body of the decent guys' game.Hence, the Indians can play a homegrown IPL and still make money. The old colonial power may not play cricket well again; but don't worry there is no point in doing it also! For victories let people look to better games!

[xtran81]

From an outside perspective, I should say English cricket should look beyond the Ashes and the rivalry with Australia. Yes, Aus-Eng duels are great, and great for the game. But English cricket is too fixated on the biennial event to the extent that it has not taken seriously other tours altogether.
India tours are tough, the present Indian team is simply all conquering, although I would'nt go on to say that they are world's best, just yet. Seeing KP and his team, I feel they are under-prepared. The English media and its fans , on the other hand give an impression that India tours are just for its own sake, and for Indian cricket fans only. I maybe wrong here, but I am sorry that is the impression I usually get when I see English teams in India over the years.

[Nav]

I think Zim or Bangladesh will give Eng a good run for their money at the mo. Let Freddie and KP play the IPL and feel a little happy about their lives and you might see the morale lift. Even that wont fix it on 2nd thoughts because the rest of the team (who will struggle to get ipl offers imo) is going to feel left in the lurch specially after the Stanford debcacle.

[prateek]

To avoid a whitewash, first, drop Matt Prior, for he is of no use. Let alone batting, his primary job of wicketkeeping has been a long way off the mark. Ensure KP and Freddie play maximum overs. Pray that Collingwood, Shah and Bopara chip in with useful contributions. Most of important of all, get Yuvi out early and England might just get that unlikely victory.

[Johnmc]

How about putting Collingwood, a proven one-day player in above No 6 where he is invariably either coming in during a crisis or with little time to make an impact. Shah may as well open, he's normally in soon enough anyway. And drop Bell. Can't do much with the bowling at the moment

[saul]

have england suddenly fallen from grace as a world beating side ?? no, so why all the fuss? we are average and have been at the 50 over game for a very long time. what upsets me most is that walking off after another defeat , anderson and broad find something funny to giggle about ?? i am seeing the likes of this more and more often .
i would nt be laughing after playing the way we did. yes its only a game . but its a game that i take seriously and clearly the england team do not. get rid of prior and get a real wicketkeeper like foster ? bring in monty for patel. open with bopara and wright . maybe one of them will come off. kp at 3 flintoff at 4 bell at 5 collingwood at 6 swann at 7 broad at 8 foster at 9 and harmison and panesar to follow. what do you think ?

[Nat]

First, in sports you accept that you lose to a better team. Right now, having beaten Australia, India are probably the best in the world. So if we lose 7-0, so be it. But let us play with some spirit and adventure and not cave in.

Second, we continue to behave as if we are still the dominant power and want everything our way - we would like our players to play in IPL as they could not win the Antiguan lottery, but only for 15 days; we want to play test cricket in England with an as yet undecided opponent so that SkyTV money can flow in; and we want Indian players to play in EPL so that our TV programmes can sell. Can we for a moment forget about all money equations and ask what is best for development of our player. Probably let our players play in IPL.

[Mick]

We really must jettison Bell from the one day team. The stats do not add upto him opening (let alone playing) in the one day team. We watch Sehwag flat batting Broad back over his head for four, then Bell essaying a perfect cover drive, straight to the sweeper for one. We need improvisers at the top of the order. Please Peter find an opening partner for Ravi, Swanny perhaps, who will score a a run a ball, even if its only for 20 or 30....?

[TimesReader]

They will fight tooth and nail to join the IPL next year since the placatory Stanford incentive went abegging. The ECB needs to clear the air on this to get the best out of Fred and KP :) Put yourself in their shoes.Imagine not being able to get your hands on a million quid when it is there for the taking!!

[Nick]

I think there has been a failure to move with the times. The IPL has changed everything. Despite what coaches, players and commentators have written about Test cricket being the superior, English cricket seems to have forgotton that nothing stands still. I was reading about Vaughan trying to get back into the Test team today and made me think that even Test cricket will not allow success to cricketers batting at 3 and over anymore.

[Saurabh Raye]

The selectors have done what is required,the Indian selectors I mean. They have spoken about experimenting with players who have not had a game, and to help the visitors have also leaked reports in the press about the captain wanting player A instead of Player B in the team, thus negating any success of the experimentation by introducing some discord in the Indian dressing room. KP just needs to focus on making some runs, and the next 3 games are there for the taking.

[Som]

Divine Intervention.

[Dsylexic]

2-0 is inevitable unless Ahmedabad turns up to be a greentop like it was when the South africans last played there defeating india.

To avoid a 7-0 wash, it is necessary to get shah,flintoff and kp the bulk of the strike .ie 40 overs.so they should bat 1-2-3 or 2-3-4.Bopara is ok at 1 or 5.bell should be dropped.anderson should be canned. harmison may be given another chance with instructions to pitch it up early.collingwood is a drag on the team but his fielding mitigates things a bit.

monty should play.someone needs to beg trescothick to return or even nick knight who is commentating.
england needs strikers -not nudgers and knurdlers.the bowling is acting like cannon fodder only because of poor line and length -as you can see freddie is doing wvery well.so is zaheer or even munaf.its about yorkers and tight lines.pace is irrelevant

[Rahul]

Well said Pat. Truely England have had too many distractions after the Stanford fiasco. One hand they've had to worry about the Central Contracts and on the other IPL franchises might be in tug-of-war to choose KP, Fredie and Colly.

One thing for sure. Its not a happy England team out there. The team that had rekindled the spirits of Cricket lovers back home after the South Africa one-dayers is seen nowhere.

[gentlemans game]

Well England lacks team spirit more than anything. KP is not the kind of captian that players feel like one of them while on the other side dhoni is. When i see KP on the field I remember the olds days of M.Azar of india where he always felt that he stood way above the whole team. KP is given so much importance that he feels that his standard is way above the team. I saw his reaction to a misfield by samit patel in bangalore which cleared my doubts.
The team comes first not captian. Well if KP realise it soon the better !!!!!!!

[SK]

How to avoid a white-wash??? There is only one solution - BRING BACK BOTHAM.