Baptism of Fire for Giles in India
I have to be honest, I was somewhat unsure of Ashley Giles’ appointment as England One-Day Coach. Most know about the incredible work Andy Flower has done as England Head Coach. Taking over a side that looked despondent and broken following Peter Moores’ removal, and transforming them into a hungry, well-drilled outfit that was high in confidence and capable of beating anyone. He’d even managed to guide England’s long under performing ODI side from the lower echelons of the rankings to world number one.
So, when he decided to relinquish his duties as One-Day and hand over the baton to Ashley Giles in the process, many were slightly wary. Sure, Giles had led Warwickshire to their sixth County Championship title in their history, but he was a relative newcomer to coaching. It seemed as if the selectors were, once again, sticking with what they knew, especially considering Giles’ good relationship with his country after making 54 test appearances and having a spot on the Selectors committee.
It seemed almost certain that Giles’ cosy relationship with the ECB had played a part in him securing the role ahead of other highly-regarded county coaches. With this appointment, it was clear that the selectors were not only appointing a Short Format coach for the present, but also the future full-time England coach.
Giles’ first test was always likely to be a baptism of fire: coming up against an Indian team desperate to avenge the Test series loss to England and ODI loss to rivals Pakistan. Giles meanwhile, had the job of motivating a team who perhaps believed their work in India was done after a first test series victory for over 27 years.
Things started well, with an impressive nine run win in the first game of the series. However, they went largely downhill from there on in. Three successive beatings later, and it was clear that Giles had failed in his attempt to make the dream start in his new job.
Granted, England were missing Jonathan Trott’s steady, composed batting at three and Graham Swann’s wicket taking ability, but Giles and England were rather unimaginative in their squad selection.
Craig Kieswetter was once again given another chance following some dismal form over the past 12 months, whilst Jade Dernbach was given regular game time despite his increasingly predictable pace variations becoming even more tired and obvious to batsmen by the day.
Things went pretty disastrously for England’s Batsman after game one. Alastair Cook was on the end of a number of poor decisions, but the batting, in general, was substandard. Kieswetter failed again, Morgan, who had led from the front as captain in the T20 series, looked out of touch and lost, whilst Ian Bell’s inconsistent form continued again. Joe Root was a major plus point however, with Bairstow’s replacement arguably eclipsing his more established fellow Yorkshireman.
On the bowling front, things were little better. Steve Finn led the attack and was initially wayward following his recent injury trouble but eventually came good to back up his claim for a permanent spot in England’s team in all forms of the game. James Treadwell looked good too, bowling at a decent economy and occasionally taking an important wicket. However, Dernbach struggled badly. He was wayward, didn’t take many wickets and generally spent his time getting bashed around the park. For a young man who came into the team with promise, Dernbach seriously has to go back to the drawing board if he wants a long term future in the England side. Chris Woakes, who returned to the team undoubtedly via his association with Giles, did little to convince observers that he was capable of being a regular at this level.
Tim Bresnan, meanwhile, continued to look out of sorts and surely must be beginning to feel the heat following successive failures with bat and ball. For me, we did not see enough of Stuart Meaker, who deserved more of a chance after some decent performances at T20 level. For the first time in a while, England looked short in the pace bowling department and this was a key reason as to why the series was lost.
So, there’s a lot of food for thought for Giles. A conservative team selection, coupled with some odd choices meant England failed to offer much resistance. It seems absolutely crucial that Giles takes a harder line with his players, otherwise One-Day cricket is in danger of becoming the afterthought it was pre-Flower in England. Granted, Giles has made necessary changes for the series in New Zealand, with Kieswetter finally removed and Dernbach demoted to T20 duties only. The question mark will remain over Giles, however, until he can bring some of the success that Flower managed to achieve in this format of the game. Given that he is heir-apparent to Flower’s old full-time job, he will be given time to put his mark on the team. However, with the Champions Trophy fast approaching, it may not be as much time as he expected or wanted.
Matthew
Sports Journalism student interested in a range of different sports. Have an opinion on everything
I dont think we have been strong on the sub-continent for some time. Our Test performances seem to be improving (now we are at the of the tour in these countries), however, our ODI performances have been poor throughout. I think we can challenge in conditions that suit us. I suppose we have to give Giles some time to set his priorities and assess the team before we judge.
I have to agree though, i’m unsure about Giles, its a good set up for the Test team (Andy Flower) but I think it may have a detrimental effect on the ODI team.
Once again, the issue of England playing too much cricket and needing to rest key players comes into light. We play so much Test cricket that our best players need rest and we effectivley use second string bowlers or youth development players. Dernbach for example, most expensive bowler in ODI cricket.
Giles will get time I’m sure. He’s being groomed to take over the Test team in the end so there’s no doubting that. England are supposed to have depth in the bowling department, yet Dernbach was given too many opportunities. Once he had been figured out he became pretty ineffective. Kieswetter was the same. They have to stop giving players who are way out-of-form or not good enough lots of chances. Look at Bopara – he was found out about three years ago yet was in and out of the team (as a No.3 Batsman at times!) until last year.
My main problem with Giles is his lack of experience and the way he has risen through the ranks. To go from retirement to England One Day Head Coach is a rapid rise. The ECB have approached it differently too. Flower came in as an Assistant and was given time to learn the setup, whereas they’ve thrown Giles in at the deep end a bit. I would have preferred to have seen Giles take on a similar role to Flower as opposed to just handing him the reigns.
Dernbach is a strange one for me. I’ve always been a big fan, but I’m not sure if the novelty is wearing off, or like you say, he needs to go back to the drawing board or stick to T20. With regards to Kieswetter, I think his time is up now – Buttler is far more versatile as a batsman, as we’ve seen in the recent T20′s. I think he needs a regular spot to help him find his feet.
I don’t think that it’s a closed book for Dernbach. He’s seriously lacking in confidence at the moment though. I think he needs to go back to his county and work hard on his game. When you get past the pace variation he doesn’t have that much about him and his stock delivery isn’t the best either. However, he showed when he initially came in the team that he has talent and can be effective. And then there’s the accuracy problem. I think the main problem for Dernbach though is his age. He’s far from old, but I think he has to make improvements in his game quickly if he wants to survive
Absolutely. He is short stint specialist, and death bowler. Would love to see him succeed at ODI’s though, might keep him too busy for the tattoo parlour!
Does anyone else have issues with Broad at the minute? His form has been terrible. I’ve had questions about his consistency for some time now. He goes through spells of brilliance but then goes through a longer spell of terrible form.
The similar players in high ranking teams like South Africa are playing to much better stats….hence why they are World No.1
For Example:
Steyn = Anderson
Morkel = Broad
Philander = Finn/Woakes/BRESNAN
I know who I would pick!
The way England are going, those guys could be playing next year.
Losing the series 3-2, tying the T20 1-1 and winning the test series. I’d say it was a decent tour to India and you’d struggle to find many touring teams who come out with the record we did
Very true, but in fairness Giles only looks after the ODI squad and 3-2 looks much better than our performances. We only just won our first and got knocked out of the park in a couple of them. Great overall series though, completely agree!
Sunday’s game was a very important one. 3-2 looks fine, as many people won’t look at how England were comprehensively outplayed in three successive games. Giles will not be judged yet, but the performances have to pick up, particularly when you look at the quality of some of the England players.
Yeah, to be fair, I didn’t watch much of the ODIs so can’t comment in detail on our performances. I’ll go with your views on the comprehensive nature of India’s wins. The ones we won should have been more comfortable than they ended up.