One-Day Fortunes Will Define Moores

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Moores - can he fix the one-day team?

By Dave Tickner

England should strengthen their claim to be the second-best Test team around with a couple of routine series victories over West Indies and India this summer.

As such, the ECB should at least be applauded for the speed of their decision in confirming Peter Moores as permanent successor. The big doubt against Moores is his lack of international experience, but his first taste should be relaitively straightforward.

If the ECB felt Moores was the man for the job, then they are right to give him the job permanently; making him caretaker for the West Indies series would only have confused matters. With victory in that series a near-certainty anyway, giving Moores the permanent job afterwards would suggest confusion where none apparently exists.

Likewise giving anyone else the gig after, for argument's sake, a 3-0 series win would be as daft as changing the captaincy after such a victory. Andrew Strauss would certainly agree there.

England's Test team is an experienced and settled one now, and one that would expect to beat West Indies and India this summer with no coach in place.

Clearly, Moores' big test will come in the one-day game where England remain a rabble. Their fifth-placed finish at this World Cup should leave several countries looking shamefaced at their own efforts.

England realised in their ninth game - about eight too late - that one-day cricket has moved on in the last few years.

The fact is that powerplay overs take up 40 percent of the innings, and just ignoring them is not really an option. Finally, faced with a total of 300, Michael Vaughan suddenly realised that a good start was needed and probably earned himself yet another chance in the shorter form of the game.

The big question, though, is what to do with Kevin Pietersen? He simply must be given the chance to bat when the fielding restrictions are in place. While the fragility of England's top order means he usually comes in after about five overs anyway, when he does so there is immediate pressure to rebuild the innings rather than play with freedom.

The only time Pietersen gets to bat with freedom at the moment is when England make a good start and he comes in when runs are harder to score.

Having the world's best one-day batsman and using him in the middle overs is like having X-ray-vision laser eyes and using them only to heat soup. Pietersen must bat at number three.

The promotion of Ravi Bopara to that slot against the Windies at least showed vision and flexibility - but his temperament, hard-running and innovative strokeplay is perfectly suited to the latter overs of the innings where he has impressed in a short career so far. His bowling should also be encouraged, and he has done enough to earn a regular place in the one-day team now. His next task is to follow the Paul Collingwood route from indispensable one-day player to Test-match regular.

After a desperate World Cup, Jamie Dalrymple should be heading back to restore his confidence at Middlesex, with Monty Panesar encouraged to learn and improve 'on the job' as England's first-choice (only choice) spinner.

Paul Nixon's wicketkeeping has been no better than adequate at the World Cup, but he was never picked for his glovework. He's a leader in the field, and an ice-cool innovator with the bat.

In the absence of any clear alternative, he should continue for at least this summer while Steven Davies gets another year under his belt at county level.

The seam bowling is a massive problem. Andrew Flintoff is as good as anyone around, but after that it goes swiftly and horribly wrong. James Anderson has played in two World Cups now, so is well past promising-youngster stage yet still short of the finished article.

Saj Mahmood bowls wonderful wicket-taking balls but has still yet to master the dot ball. Ditto Liam Plunkett. Stuart Broad has huge potential, but is very much in the promising-youngster stage.

England are out of options here, and must decide who they are going to persevere with and who is going to be jettisoned. All these players are young enough to be four years better as well as four years older at the next World Cup. It's just a case of backing the right men. This is where Moores will earn his corn.