No short cuts left as drive down blind alley reaches world’s end

So, lacking enough of those moments, a team devoid of confidence and a management group battered and bruised and beaten after a year of sackings, civil war and unseemly upheaval, slunk out of the World Cup at the earliest opportunity. No doubt there will be anger at home, as another festival of cricket continues without England, but, really, it was just sad, terribly sad, to see good players fall so short of their own expectations.

Sad to see David Saker, for example, a bowling coach who has enjoyed many fine moments with English cricket, not the least of which came in the land of his birth, sitting on his own in the dugout long after the game was done and the floodlights had been switched off. Alone with his thoughts. To all intents and purposes, his work with England is done and this was a bad lasting memory to take away from it.

Inevitably, there will be a hue and cry over the management of the team. In some respects, this is the way modern cricket is moving, towards a football-type environment where short-term results determine the future of coaches. It is the consequence of the cult of the coach where players are allowed to shirk responsibility for performance, which is a wrong-headed way of looking at the game because it diminishes their status and inflates the influence of those who can only sit and watch helplessly.

But Peter Moores said before the tournament that international players must get used to playing under pressure and, in the same way, Moores must accept that with poor results comes accountability. Although he could have no qualms if Paul Downton, the managing director of the ECB, begins a search for his successor (Downton indicated yesterday that he continues to have complete faith in Moores), that accountability is shared to some degree because England’s World Cup campaign has been a long time in the planning — calamitous though that has been — and much of it pre-Moores.

Equally, remember that in the past 18 months, England’s management has included three head coaches, Andy Flower, Ashley Giles (on a caretaker basis) and now Moores. And under all three very different men, with different styles and philosophies, there has been an Ashes whitewash, a humbling by Netherlands in an early World Twenty20 exit, and now this. There is no magic bullet, and it is hard to believe that another complete clear-out will necessarily make things better. After all, the shortlist for the England job was not strong 12 months ago, and is unlikely to include some of the names touted now, such as Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie.

To the list of damaging early World Cup exits in 1999 and 2003, we can now put this to the top of the list.

Specifically, then, what can England do about their one-day cricket? First would be to move out of a state of denial. For too long, England have refused to accept that the game has changed and other teams are playing a more dynamic, more aggressive, more flexible form of the game. They almost tiptoed to Champions Trophy success two summers ago in England, using that near-success to defend an outdated template. Moores suggested England missed Jonathan Trott at No 3. Trott is not the type of player England should be trying to promote in one-day cricket as they move to the future.

It was a denial that prompted them to appoint Alastair Cook as one-day captain in the first place, a decision made through the prism of Test cricket and to which they committed for far too long in the run-up to this tournament. The failure here can be traced back to decisions made just after the 2011 World Cup, which meant the fatal realisation that they were on the wrong track came too late, so denying players such as Alex Hales significant opportunities. In 2014, England played 25 one-day internationals, winning just nine. An early elimination here is a reflection largely of that stuttering background and poor planning.

Second, include someone with significant one-day international experience on the selection panel. James Whitaker, Angus Fraser, Mick Newell and Moores do not have any wide-ranging one-day international experiences between them. It is a problem of perception — people need to have confidence in those making the decisions — but also of substance. The game is moving on rapidly. Someone such as Paul Collingwood would be a great addition to the panel, with a specific remit for one-day cricket and identifying the right players.

There is, perhaps, a credibility issue with the staff who surround the England team, with only Mark Ramprakash, of those who sat on the bench in this tournament, having played any amount of international cricket. If a more hands-on role, say, fielding coach, could be found for Collingwood as well, then it would help ease that problem. Clearly, you don’t have to have been a world-class player to be a fine coach, but players need to know that there is someone in the background who has been through the same problems and the same pressures as them.

Third would be to develop a world-class Twenty20 tournament in England. Plenty of observers are saying that England players are missing exposure in the IPL and Big Bash.The ECB has missed a significant opportunity to create a similar event of its own, but it is not too late. Nobody else plays in the English summer and the template of a short, snappy tournament is easily followed. That should be a priority for Tom Harrison, the new chief executive. Twenty20 is the key to developing the next batch of 50-over cricketers because most countries are playing at that tempo now, albeit stretched over a longer period of time.

Fourth, identify young players now who fit the formula that other countries are playing to, and invest in their future. Picking the right kind of players is like picking a good dividend-paying stock. Choose right and stay faithful and they will provide compound interest for years to come. Moeen Ali, Hales, Buttler, Sam Billings, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan, among others, provide a nucleus of a one-day squad to move forward with.

It is never completely doom and gloom, although England must be prepared to progress players more quickly from domestic cricket. When I saw Billings play for Kent two years ago, I thought then that he should be challenging for a World Cup place in Australia. He spent the next few months in Kent’s second XI.

Finally, do not get sidetracked by the lazy theories that will inevitably be thrown around. In the past fortnight I have heard that England are too nice, not nasty enough, too insular, and too obsessed with statistics. Over the next few days there will be many more of these blind alleys. Ignore them. There is no magic formula to producing a winning cricket team, save good players (with preferably a great player or two) who are prepared to commit fully to maximising their own talent and to the good of the team, and knowledgable and empathetic leaders to help them to achieve that. It takes a clear-sighted vision, firm direction and time.

Talking in riddles

“The key here is to see it for what it is and we’re going to get to where we want to get to, and not to go away from what it is we’re trying to get to. We’ve got to keep driving that home.” Peter Moores after the Ashes whitewash, June 2014

“The game tends to have two halves — the first 25 overs and the second 25 — and we’ve got to get that balance right.” Defending Alastair Cook as England’s one-day opener, August 2014

“Anyone who watched us bat in Sri Lanka saw us play in a different style. We didn’t always execute it perfectly because we got bowled out.” On eve of tri-series against Australia and India, January 2015

“The players’ preparation for the game was good but we didn’t play in the style we wanted to play. We have got to address that and come back with something.” After losing in 12.2 overs against New Zealand in Wellington, February 21, 2015

“Everybody can sing in the shower but not everybody can sing on the stage. You have got to be able to get it out of yourself to become a top-flight player” On putting the data to one side, February 2015

Next coach off the rank

Jason Gillespie

Supervised Yorkshire as head coach on their way to the Championship title last season, earning the respect of Colin Graves, the county chairman and incoming ECB chairman. Has said that he would be interested in the job.

Ashley Giles

Former England spin bowler who was unlucky not to succeed Andy Flower last year, having been groomed for the overall post as coach of the one-day and Twenty20 sides. At present preparing for his first season in charge of Lancashire.

Mark Robinson

Decent county bowler who spent his early years in coaching with Peter Moores at Sussex. Has impressed while working with the Lions, but lack of international experience may count against him.

Tom Moody

Coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. A key player in Australia’s 1999 World Cup victory, he is interested in getting back into the international sphere after a successful period with Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2007.

Words by Richard Hobson