All roads lead to New Zealand as England look to make up for lost time

NICK FRIEND: Fourteen months have passed since England last played ODI cricket, but Heather Knight is confident that her side can rediscover their 50-over formula

In normal times, this would be the live performance: New Zealand as World Cup hosts, the women’s game charging ahead on the back of an irresistible upward surge, England well into their development as a 50-over side under Lisa Keightley.

Instead, the next fortnight represents a dress rehearsal. Yes, England are in New Zealand, but they are alone in being there, only now beginning their preparations for a tournament four years in the making – and now a fifth.

In the current context, it is an important series. For one, it is cricket. Were it not for this trip, set up following the postponement of their title defence to fill the winter void, the gap between one-day internationals for England would have stretched to 18 months ahead of the summer.

“Obviously, it’s been a long wait with the circumstances of 2020,” said captain Heather Knight, speaking on Series Eve, visibly – and audibly – looking forward to the return of a format where, under her leadership, England reached the pinnacle four years ago.

Not that she is keen on looking back to the past at this juncture, especially after waiting so long for this moment to re-emerge. “I’m not sure it's something you really think about too much once the dust settled after that World Cup win,” she added.

“We’re just super-pumped that we’re able to get back and play ODI cricket again.

“This year’s preparation is going to be really key and I think the girls are just really excited to get back out playing international cricket, let alone ODI cricket.”

^{Heather Knight expects England to rediscover their ODI touch}

The five-match T20I series against West Indies in Derby was an important boost in September, coming at the end of a frustrating summer. But five months have passed since then and England’s last ODI is even further back in a pre-pandemic past.

When England last played a 50-over game, they were in Kuala Lumpur to take on Pakistan: Ali Maiden was in interim charge, Keightley hadn’t even begun as head coach, Sarah Glenn was making her debut and Covid-19 was not yet on anyone’s agenda.

Come Tuesday, it will mean that England’s last three ODI series have been played out under the stewardship of three different coaches: Keightley in New Zealand, Maiden in Malaysia and Mark Robinson in the Ashes.

And so, this next month will be fascinating. Knight admitted the transition back into 50-over cricket was “slightly challenging” but played down any longer-term concern over lingering cobwebs ahead of an important year. The 437-day gap between ODIs is England’s longest since winning the World Cup in 1993, which gave way to a 716-day hiatus.

“Generally, it’s just about doing your skills more consistently for longer, so that’s what we’ve really focused on in our practice and our warmup games out here,” she explained.

“We’ve had a really good look, myself and the coaching staff, at where we are as a team in ODI cricket and where we need to get better, where we’re really good as well and how we’re going to be successful in the next couple of years. I’m really excited to start that journey; it feels like a long time coming.”

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Since Keightley stepped into her role, she has reimagined England’s T20 cricket, pushing a renewed emphasis on all-out attack and tweaking the line-up of her batting resources to maximise the impact of Knight and Nat Sciver.

What we will learn during a three-match ODI series in New Zealand is how Keightley wants her charges to go about their work in the longer of the two white-ball formats and whether England’s blueprint bears resemblance to their T20 philosophy.

“Lisa likes talking about throwing the first punch, taking lead of the game straight away and not being reactive,” Amy Jones told The Cricketer last week.

And Knight sought to explain further what England’s ODI cricket might look like.

“I think the big difference between T20 cricket and 50-over cricket is that T20 is a very structured game in terms of the stats,” she said. “It’s very short, you have those clearly defined periods and it’s clear on the game-plan.

“Obviously with 50 overs, you have a bit longer – it has a lot more ebbs and flows. You have to adapt a lot more as a player, I think, in terms of how you go about things, when you might have to take in a little bit of pressure and when you can really throw that punch back. I think the themes are similar; it’s just about adapting it a little bit for ODI cricket and being able to make big contributions as players.

“In T20, obviously one player can win you a game. But in 50-over cricket, you need a lot more consistent performances from everyone. We’ve got some real world-class players and I’m really excited to see what they can do in the next few years.”

^{Lisa Keightley is set to take charge of her first ODI as England coach}

Consistency, then, is key. Since June 22, 2016, when England racked up 378 for 5 against Pakistan – their highest-ever ODI score, the handbrake has been removed. They have passed 320 nine times in 50-over cricket, seven of those in the last five years. The message from Knight, though, is to do it more often.

Likewise, with the ball, where she has challenged her bowlers to “keep being aggressive and looking to take wickets” – not least because of Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn, who have become such an effective partnership through the middle overs.

“I think we’re the best team in the world if you look at the stats in containing teams and bowling dot-balls and building pressure.”

They will have to do without Anya Shrubsole and Katie George for this tour, though, with both seamers missing through injury.

For the Knight-Keightley axis, this marks the beginning of an intriguing period, much like the tri-series with India and Australia that preceded last year’s T20 World Cup.

Keightley was right when she spoke to The Cricketer in December in stressing that “there’s no way you can do exactly the same as what you did four years ago”, referring to how she might look to push her charges to improve on what they produced in winning the 2017 World Cup.

In the short term, that means combatting the threat of hosts New Zealand, a strong outfit with an experienced core and – in Sophie Devine – perhaps the leading player in the world, certainly on current form.

In Brooke Halliday and Natalie Dodd, their squad includes the two stars of a New Zealand Development XI’s win over England in the second of two warmup matches – a result described by Knight as “a bit of a humbling”.

^{Danni Wyatt showed signs of a return to form in the pre-series practice matches}

One positive takeaway from the practice games was Danni Wyatt’s form: she made 89 runs in two games, including a long overdue half century after averaging just 11.25 through 2020.

Analysing her struggles during a season spent predominantly in Derby’s bio-secure bubble, Keightley suggested that it was difficult to judge players on their summer form, given the exceptional, extenuating circumstances. “I think it’s harder for extroverts; I look at someone like Danni Wyatt,” she said. “She loves interacting and seeing new people and having a chat.”

And so, it will be interesting to see the difference that the relative freedom of New Zealand, where Covid-19 is under greater control, might have on performance. “It’s pretty much normal life over here,” explained Tash Farrant last week.

In Wyatt’s case, Knight hopes that the 29-year-old is on the cusp of a return to her dashing best. After all, England are a far better side when she is playing well, especially with licence to attack at the top of the innings.

“I think it's fair to say – and Danni will say this herself – that she hasn't quite nailed ODI cricket yet,” Knight said, supported by a career average of just 19.76 that appears wildly out of kilter with her talent and attacking intent.

It was one of the motivating factors behind pushing her up to open with Beaumont in Malaysia. The early signs were positive; she struck her maiden ODI hundred in the same series, but any chance of momentum was swept away by the 13-month pause that followed.

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Encouragingly, she dipped into the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for the first two rounds and made scores of 66 and 53, suggesting that she might have found a home against the new ball.

“I really think it's going to be a huge series for her, and a year, in terms of really nailing down her ODI cricket and what she could do for us at the top of the order,” Knight added, well aware of the benefit that England would gain from regular fast starts.

“She naturally scores very quickly. And there's going to be times probably where she gets out early because we want her to be aggressive and want her to play her natural game and take the game on at the top of the order. I'm really excited about what Danni could do.

“I think she's had a little bit of a lean year, to be honest, on her own terms. But the signs are really good. She's worked really hard over the last couple of months to be in a really good place with her game, and the signs were very good in the practice game – the way she played in that second warm-up game was exactly how we want her to play.

“Her natural mindset is to be aggressive and score. I think she'll do that anyway and, if she can take a little bit more time when she needs it and pick her balls that she's going to be really aggressive on, I think she can be really successful.

“She certainly puts pressure on bowlers and pressure on captains, that’s for sure, so that’s her role – to go out and be herself and back her shots.”

And as England look to make up for lost time over the next 12 months, that message of positivity might well be a sign of things to come.