England in 2015 - The Year in Review

2015 - The Year that has been

An Ashes series win and a first round knockout in the World Cup notwithstanding, 2015 could well go down as the year in which England's limited-overs cricket turned a leaf. Eoin Morgan, appointed captain ahead of the quadrennial event in Australia, made ammends for the team's abject World Cup campaign by impressing upon his side to play a positive, attractive brand of cricket. As a result, England won series against New Zealand and Pakistan and finished a close second to Australia. Alastair Cook's Test side, however, endured an up and down year. They successfully regained the Ashes in a series of largely one-sided encounters but surrendered winnable series away to West Indies and at home to New Zealand. The 0-2 scoreline against Pakistan in the spin-friendly conditions of the middle-east gave a timely reminder of the deficiencies of the side. But in Joe Root and Ben Stokes, England have two reliable cricketers to build on for the future.

Off the field, a new order was created at the ECB with the appointment of former captain Andrew Strauss as director of cricket. The Kevin Pietersen-saga, however, spilled over to another forgettable episode. Peter Moores, the 'data man' got the sack for the second time and Trevor Bayliss was picked to herald the team into a new era.

Jan 16, 2015

Eoin Morgan takes over

"Just seen the England team line-up. This is an exciting team! Love it!" tweeted exiled batsman Kevin Pietersen as Eoin Morgan took charge of England's ODI side in the Carlton Mid Tri-series, a month ahead of the World Cup. The excitement was short-lived as Mitchell Starc blew England's top-order away at the SCG but the new captain conjures a stylish 121 to give the total some respectability. A David Warner century takes Australia home but the new England side give a good account of themselves in the series - beating India twice and running Australia close - before capitulating in the final at the WACA to a 112-run defeat.

Feb 14, 2015

An ominous start at the MCG

Despite fielding a relatively inexperienced team, there was a genuine sense of optimism for the three lions heading into the World Cup in Australia. There was a hope that, without the unrealistic expectations around the team, the unit could just about put together a solid campaign, if not go all the way. At the MCG, on the opening day, England were given a rude awakening of just how much they'd fallen behind the leaders in the 50-over format. Australia piled on 342 before cleaning up Morgan's men or 231. James Taylor's 98 (stranded under controversial terms) was the only ray of light in an otherwise forgettable day.

Feb 20, 2015

'Super Seven' Southee rips England apart

If the game against Australia was bad, the one against New Zealand at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington was nothing short of a catastrophe. In an exhibition of swing bowling, Tim Southee recorded figures of 9-0-33-7 as England folded for 123 under 34 overs. The Kiwis hunted the total down in 62 minutes with Brendon McCullum blitzing a 25-ball 77. Poor Steven Finn ended with figures of 2-0-49-0 ! In just two games, the wheels had come off England's campaign.

Mar 9, 2015

'We'll have to look at the data'

The lowest point of England's 2015. The least England were expected to do at the World Cup was to qualify for the quarters. But they were bundled out of the tournament following a fourth defeat in five games - this one at the hands of an eclectic Bangladeshi side. Rubel Hossain knocked over Broad and Andedrson sparking never-before-seen scenes of delirium at the Adelaide Oval. Bangladesh progressed to the knockouts at England's expense and Peter Moores, England's coach, earned the ire of England fans for his infamous quote on having to look at the data. Twitter exploded to life with Malaysia cricket asking if they could play England. Things could only improve from there.

Apr 17, 2015

Jimmy goes past Beefy

'Swing King' James Anderson became the leading wicket-taker in Tests for England on the final day of an absorbing Test match in Antigua. Anderson, playing in his 100th Test, had Denesh Ramdin edging to Alastair Cook, to surpass the legendary Ian Botham's tally of 383 wickets, which had stood since 1986. A Jason Holder-inspired West Indies though held on in the final session to force a draw. "I love taking wickets, I love playing for England and that's all I'm bothered about," he said after the game.

May 4, 2015

Trott retires after failed comeback

An inexplicable batting collapse in the second innings of the Barbados Test left England red-faced as Darren Bravo and Jermaine Blackwood helped West Indies square the three-match series 1-1. In the aftermath of the series, Jonathan Trott announced his retirement from international cricket. Trott, who'd returned to England colours after a 16-month absence due to a stress-related illness, could manage only 72 from six innings and decided to hang up his boots citing that his game "was not at the level it needed to be at to play for England"

May 9, 2015

Strauss appointed director of England cricket, sacks Moores

Just over 12 months into his second stint as England coach, Peter Moores was sacked by the new director of England cricket, Andrew Strauss. The decision had been coming ever since England went out ignominously from the World Cup. The failure to win a series in West Indies pushed it over the line. Paul Farbrace, Moores' assistant, took over in the interim period. The man-hunt for a full-time coach before the Ashes officially got underway. Jason Gillespie was tipped to take over but the post eventually went to fellow Australian Trevor Bayliss.

May 12, 2015

A vision of an England side without KP

England director of cricket Andrew Strauss confirmed Kevin Pietersen was "not part of his plans" for the Ashes summer. Strauss cited a "massive trust issue" between himself and KP, who was sacked by ECB after the Ashes defeat in Australia. Pietersen had hoped for a recall after apparent encouragement from new ECB chairman Colin Graves. KP had decided to skip the IPL to play England's domestic cricket but even after his maiden triple-century for Surrey, he was informed within hours by Strauss that there was no imminent prospect of him playing for England again.

June 2, 2015

The turnaround that wasn't to be

England began their summer of cricket at home in shocking fashion at Lord's when they slipped to 30 for 4 under an hour's play against New Zealand. Joe Root and Ben Stokes' counter-attacking partnership brought England back but the visitors still took a 134-run first innings lead. Captain Alastair Cook then conjured a courageous 162 before England bowled New Zealand out to complete a stunning turnaround. The joy of the win, however, was short-lived as the three lions failed to close out yet another series win as a Mark Craig-led New Zealand spun them out in Leeds to level the series 1-1.

June 20, 2015

Mogan's 'new' England

In an ODI series that skewed the balance of cricket heavily in favour of the bat, England edged out World Cup runners-up New Zealand 3-2 with a brand of cricket always sought but seldom seen from the team. Led from the front by Eoin Morgan, England adopted an all-or-nothing appraoch and scored over 300 in each of the first four games. In a truncated decider at Chester-le-Street, when the usual suspects - Root, Morgan, Stokes - failed, an unlikely hero stepped up. Jonny Bairstow, relieved from Yorkshire duties on the eve of the match due to an injury to Jos Buttler, smashed an unbeaten 60-ball 83 to chase down 192 in 25 overs. "There is some exciting talent there. They're going to be a tough team over the next few years," McCullum quipped after the run-fest.

August 23, 2015

Root sparkles in the regaining of the urn

England regained the Ashes they'd so emphatically lost 15 months ago in Australia, in a series that was decided after four one-sided encounters. Each game threw up heroes - Anderson and Finn at Edgbaston, Stuart Broad at Trent Bridge - but the one common thread connecting England's success was the emergence of Joe Root as the batting mainstay of the side. He ended the series with 460 runs that included centuries in Cardiff and at Trent Bridge, a venue where Broad (8 for 15) sensationally bowled the tourists out for 60 on a greenish surface. The Ashes was won 3-2 and all was well in England cricket once again.

September 13, 2015

Obstructing the field and a concussion

England brought the Ashes fervour to the ODI series against Australia and did well to claw back from 0-2 down to force a decider. But, the visitors, determined to salvage something after a forgettable tour, put together a commanding performance in Manchester to clinch the tie. The ODI leg saw more of the gung-ho spirit of 'new' England with performances of James Taylor coming to the fore. But the series will be most remembered for the discussion around Ben Stokes' obstructing the field dismissal in Lord's after he palmed away a Mitchell Starc throw on the follow-through. Starc was once again in the spotlight in the final game when his 90mph bouncer hit the England captain on the head leaving him concussed, rekindling scary memories of Phil Hughes and the SCG.

October 17, 2015

So near yet so far in Abu Dhabi

England hoped to give better account of themselves in the middle-east against Pakistan's spinners than they had done during their 0-3 whitewash in 2012. And they nearly started with an unlikeliest of win in the first Test. Alastair Cook played a marathon 263 after Shoaib Malik's 245 as the match meandered to a draw. Just like that, debutant spinner Adil Rashid picked a fifer on the final day to bowl Pakistan out for 173 in the second essay. They needed 99 to get off 19 remaining overs. They hustled their way to 74 for 4 in 11 before bad-light forced umpires to call off play.

November 5, 2015

Done in by spin, yet again

England's old demons against spin resurfaced with the return of Yasir Shah. The leg spinner picked up 15 wickets in the two Test matches after recovering from a back injury to condemn the visitors to a 0-2 series defeat. Unlike 2012, England showed a lot a fight, especially in Dubai when the tail scripted a rearguard to almost force a draw. In Sharjah, however, England lost 17 wickets to spin and slipped to 156 all-out in a chase of 284. Mark Wood, Steven Finn and Ben Stokes all flew back to England with different body parts in casts.

November 20, 2015

A 46-ball century and the emergence of a new crop

Jos Buttler recorded the fastest century by an England batsman in Dubai to secure a 3-1 ODI series win against Pakistan. The visitors recovered superbly after conceding the Test and the opening one-dayer in Abu Dhabi. Alex Hales, James Taylor and Jason Roy were all amongst the runs with Chris Woakes emerging as a capable limited-overs bowler. Eoin Morgan's men extended their good run in the limited-overs format with a 3-0 thumping of Pakistan in the ensuing T20 series.

Best Player - Joe Root

2015 has been the year of Joe Root. The 24-year-old has firmly established himself as one of the leading batsmen in world cricket. He is tipped to form the bedrock of England's batting across formats for years to come. The player of the Ashes series award was the icing on the cake for Root, who scored three centuries each in Tests and ODIs. Only Alastair Cook (1357) scored more Test runs than Root's 1288 from 13 Tests. Root's emergence as the side's top batsman also earned him the vice-captaincy of the Test side with former cricketers predicting the Yorkshirman to have a long and successful stint as England captain.

Worst Player - Ian Bell

Ian Bell, England's third-highest century maker in Tests, encountered an alarming dip in form in 2015. Bell, a veteran of 118 Tests, aggregated 571 runs from 13 Tests at a modest average of 25.95. The England selectors kept faith with him after an underwhelming Ashes summer, picking him for the 2-0 defeat to Pakistan, but Bell's lack of form over the long term told. He had not scored a Test century for 24 innings and was was dropped for the England's tour of South Africa in favour of Gary Ballance, who didn't have the best of years himself. Pushed up to the opener's slot in ODIs during the World Cup, Bell performed much better - averaging 56.55 from 11 games - but was left out of the side with England seeking more explosive players at the top of the order.

Most Promising Player - James Taylor

James Taylor, 691 runs from 21 ODIs at 46.06, finished the year with a higher ODI average than both Eoin Morgan and Joe Root and in the process made himself an indispensable part of the team. He scored a suberb 98 on the opening day of the World Cup against eventual champions Australia and followed it up with a string of solid performances. His performances on turning tracks against Australia and Pakistan earned him several plaudits and a return to the Test side after a two-year gap.

2016 - The Year that will be

England's big test in 2016 would be to see if they can transform their new-found momentum in limited-overs cricket to success in the World T20, a tournament they won in 2010. If Morgan's men can put together a good run in India, they'll have reinforced their standing as one of the most improved limited-overs sides. In the summer, they'll play seven Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They are pencilled in to tour India and Bangladesh in the latter half of 2016, where their credentials as a touring side in spinning conditions will be under scrutiny yet again.