Despite plenty of criticism, Alastair Cook has guided England's one-day side to the ICC Champions Trophy final to take place on Sunday. It is rare that an English team reaches the final of a major sporting event and, so far, England have been very good in this competition, but few would disagree with the bookies' choice of India as the favourites to take away the grand prize. So how can England win this competition?
England's progress through the tournament has been impressive and they have shown that when the conditions suit their game, England probably possess the finest bowling attack in the world, with Jimmy Anderson swinging the ball from leg to off, and vice versa, at will. But, as was all too evident in their game with Sri Lanka, if the ball stops swinging, England quickly run out ideas, even if their batsmen put on what should be a defendable score. With this in mind, England will definitely be hoping the ball moves around at Edgbaston on Sunday, much in the same way as it did against Australia.
James Tredwell has also been extremely impressive, seamlessly filling in for the injured Graeme Swann. His figures have actually been more impressive than England's usual off-spinner. Tredwell has taken 25 wickets in his 13 games since since January 2012 at a cost of 19.40 runs apiece. Swann, on the other hand, has taken 14 wickets in his 15 games during the same period conceding 42.78 runs per wicket. This may cause problems for those with the responsibility of picking the side for Sunday's final, but with the wicket at Edgbaston being reportedly dry, there exists the possibility that both men could start.
Broad, Bresnan and Finn are also worthy of mention for their performances during the tournament, and although I was of the belief that they were bowling too many bouncers, my views have been proven wrong by the number of wickets they have picked up along the way. In addition to the full time bowlers, both Root and Bopara have proved themselves to very handy part timers, more than capable of filling in for the others during the spare overs. But Root and Bopara are not wicket takers and Cook would do well to use them more wisely than perhaps he did against South Africa. With the Proteas at 80-8, Cook took the strike bowlers out of the attack and allowed South Africa to more than double their existing total. Against India, England will have to be more ruthless and pounce upon any opportunity they get to dismiss the sub-continental team for a sub par score.
Despite these strengths, England cannot rely wholly on their bowlers to do the job, especially against a side whose pedigree with the bat is well known. Cook, Bell and Trott have all been criticised for being too slow, having as they do, strike rates around 75. They have also struggled to establish par score for the pitch in the opening overs when batting first. As a result of this, one would fully expect India to put England in to bat should they win the toss, and, for the same reasons, England will probably be just as keen to bowl at the Indians should the coin land in their favour. Despite the pundits' reservations, England's batsmen have done a good enough job so far, and the failure of England to beat Sri Lanka was more likely to do with some uninspired bowling rather than the relatively good score that England posted in their innings.
Still, accusations of poor tactics and slow run rates have been forthcoming. Some have suggested that the likes of Root, Morgan, Buttler and Bopara are too good to be coming in at the end of an innings to play little more than a smash and bang cameo. But, it is a tactic that has worked quite well, and the focus of a captain cannot be to grant justice to a batsman's abilities if that could compromise the possibility of a team victory. Whatever England decide to do on Sunday, a big score will be needed, either to give the bowlers enough wriggle room to bowl effectively at India or in order to chase what everyone is expecting to be a big Indian total.
India have been by far and away the best team throughout this tournament, especially with the bat. Shikhar Dhawan, the new Indian opener, has scored 332 runs in four matches including two centuries. He will need to be dispatched quickly unless he is to prove as villainous to England's chances as his wonderful moustache suggests. Dhawan's wicket will be key for England, but with the likes of Kohli, Sharma and Dhoni further down the order, there will still be lots of work to do should Dhawan depart early.
Ravi Ashwin will also be a key part of India's game on Sunday, not only can he be a dangerous batsman, his bowling can be tough to get away and score runs from, and his haul of three wickets against Pakistan is not to be scoffed at. Ravi Jadeja has also had a very impressive tournament, taking 10 wickets in his four matches, but just as importantly, bowling a very tight line and earning himself an economy rate of 3.51. I have never been a big admirer of Ishant Sharma, but his bowling in this tournament, especially in the "death overs", has been tight, restricting the number of runs significantly at the most explosive point in the game.
Despite these bowling strengths, the battle for this match will come whilst India are hitting their total. England should have enough to deal with India's bowling attack, and if so, the responsibility will then lie with the Anderson et al to do their job with the most capable batting side in one day cricket. Anderson versus Dhawan will be the contest of the tournament, and I am licking my lips at such a prospect, for these are the reasons we all watch cricket.
England have a tough test ahead, but India will also be aware that England are far from pushovers. We have a great game ahead of us, but will it be the swing of the ball or the swing of the bat that prevails?
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