Moeen Ali believes England should move on from their band of ageing World Cup winners after the flatlining campaign in India this year.
In a typically honest appraisal of their title defence – terminated by the 33-run defeat against Australia in Ahmedabad on Saturday – the 36-year-old vice-captain accepts that fresh blood must soon be injected into a team made up of thirty-somethings.
“Everything good comes to an end,” said Moeen, part of the set-up that lifted the trophy in 2019 and then went on to claim the T20 World Cup last year. “Maybe the writing was on the wall and we just didn’t see it as players because we thought we’d be performing well.
“I think if I was in charge, I’d play the younger guys [after this tournament]. I’d just start again and I’m sure they’re going to do that. It’s common sense more than anything. You want that fearless approach again.”
This being English cricket, not everything is so straightforward. For one there is the T20 World Cup defence in the Caribbean and USA next June, while all but David Willey among the current 50-over squad in India were recently handed new central contracts by team director, Rob Key.
There is also the question of whether Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott, captain and head coach, should lead a potential reboot of the white-ball set-up after overseeing six losses in seven group games, including a run of five in a row for the first time since a 5-0 bilateral series defeat in India in 2011.
Buttler in particular has lost form with the bat, his average of 15.4 in the tournament representing an alarming slump for a player widely considered to be one of England’s all-time 50-over greats. The 33-year-old insists the strains of leadership are not at play here but Key must make a dispassionate call on both roles when he sits down to review the tour.
Moeen said: “It’s not just [Buttler], it’s everybody. There’s nobody who has really performed in the batting apart from Dawid Malan, who has got a hundred and a couple of fifties. I’m sure everybody are looking at their own performances and are super disappointed with it.”
Asked if this was worse than the 2015 World Cup – catalyst for the scorching run that led to silverware four years later – Moeen replied: “I think in 2015 we didn’t expect to do much but this one we expected to be in a better position than we are now. We’ve just been rubbish – batting, bowling and fielding. Bowling-wise we were getting a bit better but the batting, we’ve obviously lacked runs. It hurts.”
In the short term, 10th-placed England must weigh up getting tournament experience into their more youthful bench players – Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Sam Curran – against the need to still beat the Netherlands and Pakistan in their remaining two fixtures. A top-eight finish is required to qualify for the Champions Trophy in early 2025.
The precocious Brook must surely return when England meet the Netherlands in Pune on Wednesday, with Liam Livingstone ripe for a demotion after failing to crack the ODI format (or justify his new two-year deal). Mark Wood, suffering knee soreness, may also open a spot for Atkinson, while Willey’s impending retirement from international cricket could lead Englan to cut short his farewell and recall fellow left-armer Curran.
Straight after the World Cup comes a white-ball tour of the Caribbean in December – three ODIs and five Twenty20s – and a chance to explore further options. But while effectively accepting both his and a number of other 50-over careers will soon end, Moeen believes the T20 World Cup defence next year will still be viewed separately.
The all-rounder, starting a new one-year contract himself, said: “T20 is a different format, a different style of cricket and we’ve played a lot over the years. But obviously they’ll pick the best players who they feel are competitive and the best team at the time.”
Moeen also insists Champions Trophy qualification is hugely important for the next generation of players, with the 2017 edition of the seemingly indestructible made-for-TV competition – and a semi-final finish – having been vital preparation for the side that became world champions in 2019.
Should England miss out then West Indies – absent from this World Cup and thus unable to make it – are keen to host them for a Test series in the Caribbean at the same time. This is currently absent from the future tours programme that runs until the end of 2027, despite visits by England being a precious source of income for Cricket West Indies and the region as a whole.
