DUBAI // If this was 1882, England’s disappointing performance at the World Cup would have elicited a handful of satirical obituaries in the country’s newspapers.
On his return home, captain Eoin Morgan would have received a brand new terracotta urn, containing the ashes of English one-day cricket.
Fortunately for him, these are different times. That, of course, does not mean the nation has not been mourning their early return from the tournament, with only wins over minnows Afghanistan and Scotland to show for their six months of dedicated preparation.
The popular opinion is Morgan and his men were playing a brand of cricket that has no place in modern times. Caught in a time warp, they have looked like ruins of a bygone era.
Jason Gillespie, however, has a simpler view on their failings.
"At the end of the day, they didn't score enough runs and they didn't take enough wickets," said the former Australia international bowler, who is now highly regarded off the field for his coaching skills after guiding Yorkshire to their first County Championship title since 2001 last September.
“If you don’t do that and you miss opportunities in the field to take catches, you are not going to win many games of cricket. It’s as simple as that.
“Yes, there was some decision-making that was probably a little bit indecisive – with regards to the team and the captain, the batting order, bowling line-up. At the end of the day, as I said, if you are not scoring enough runs and not taking enough wickets, you are just simply not going to win games of cricket.”
England’s early exit from the World Cup has led to a bitter outcry at home, with calls for heads to roll at every level.
Pundits have called for coach Peter Moores to be sacked, and former players including Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting have backed Gillespie to take over the job.
Gillespie shares close links with the incoming chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Colin Graves, who has been the executive chairman of Yorkshire since 2012.
Six of his players, including uncapped youngsters Adam Lyth and Adil Rashid, have been selected for next month’s England tour of the West Indies.
Gillespie, however, has ruled himself out of the England job, saying he is “fully committed to Yorkshire”.
“I am really enjoying the job and looking forward to the season,” said the 39 year old, whose team will face Marylebone Cricket Club in the season-opening, four-day Champion County match in Abu Dhabi from tomorrow. “A lot of work to do, so we are really excited about the summer.”
Gillespie has also backed Morgan to keep his job as England one-day captain, but if the selectors are looking for a change, the Australian says they should look no further than his young Yorkshire star Joe Root.
“There will be questions asked of everyone in the England set-up,” Gillespie said. “That’s natural and that’s going to happen. Morgan had a poor World Cup with the bat, there’s no doubt about that, and so there will be question marks.
“That’s the nature of sport. But I think he will survive. It will be hard to just remove him now.”
Gillespie said, however, if the England board do make that call, “they’ve got a ready-made replacement in Yorkshire’s Joe Root.
“I think if Joe is given that opportunity, he will absolutely thrive as captain of England.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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