Resurgent England continue fine-tuning

Almost two years ago to the day England took the field, briefly, in a one-day international against Ireland. It was grim and damp in Dublin and only 18 overs were bowled.

It was England's first ODI since being bundled out of the World Cup by Bangladesh in Adelaide. There had been a cull of players - partly because of the close scheduling of the Test series in West Indies, but things had to change anyway - and the team was by and large full of new faces (Tim Bresnan, in what was his last international, taking the role of senior pro). However, it was a side picked in hope, rather than expectation.

James Taylor was captain in the absence of Eoin Morgan, who was at the IPL. There were five new caps and three of them - Jason Roy, Mark Wood and David Willey - are now central to England's Champions Trophy plans. The other debutants were James Vince, who has time to come again, and Zafar Ansari who has recently opted for a new challenge in life.

However, the post-World Cup cleansing had not yet been completed. As the rain fell in Malahide, news emerged that Peter Moores had been sacked as England coach with Moores, himself, unaware. A few days later it was official. English cricket was not, to use player speak, in a good place.

And so the Trevor Bayliss-Paul Farbrace era was ushered in, although initially it was Farbrace at the helm with Bayliss not arriving until shortly before that summer's Ashes.

A month on from Dublin, England faced World Cup finalists New Zealand at Edgbaston. It was an inauspicious beginning to a new era, Roy carving the first ball of the match to backward point, but things turned out okay in the end: a total of 408 and victory by 210 runs.

Two years later, and England's matches against Ireland mark the start of their final preparations for the Champions Trophy - a tournament they are, with at least one bookmaker, favourites to win. Hope has turned to expectation. After Ireland, a training camp in Spain follows then three more ODIs against South Africa before the June 1 clash against Bangladesh; a neat twist bringing them up against the team that plunged them to one of their lowest moments.

In the intervening time, England have shown the performance at Edgbaston was not a flash in the pan. In the period they have scored runs faster than anyone else (and conceded them pretty quickly, too, which we'll come into in a moment). The batting records are plentiful, most notably the highest team total of 444 for 3 against Pakistan, England's highest individual score - Alex Hales' 171 - and their fastest individual hundred, in 46 balls by Jos Buttler, although he already held the record from 2014. A side consisting of most of the same faces who form the one-day team also came within an over of winning the World T20.

Barring injuries over the next few weeks, there will be none of the last-minute changes of plan that have frequently marked England's appearances at global tournaments since 1992. Temptation has even been resisted to look at the likes of Liam Livingstone and Tom Curran against Ireland. It's almost a bit too stable, isn't it?

But the Champions Trophy offers little room for error and England still have a few questions to answer, chiefly around the make-up of their bowling attack. The batting has done a wonderful job, but hasn't always been able to cover for a sometimes profligate bowling unit.

Of the Champions Trophy 15, two certain starters, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, won't face Ireland having remained at the IPL along with Buttler. Who else will make up the attack from Liam Plunkett, Willey, Wood, Jake Ball and Adil Rashid (presuming Moeen Ali is a certain starter at No. 7)? Variety is the spice of life, and vital to winning a one-day tournament and that's what England have tried to conjure with this squad.

Much hope is pinned on Wood providing the cutting edge after another winter on the sidelines; Willey's left-arm angle is useful but he has sometimes struggled later in an innings; Plunkett can be a battering ram and Ball's variations earned him the final slot ahead of Steven Finn. A twin-spin attack of Moeen and Rashid has been a regular feature of the side in the last two years, so there may only be room for two of the four quicks when Stokes and Woakes return.

The other interesting dynamic in the Ireland matches will be Jonny Bairstow and Sam Billings. The latter will keep wicket in the absence of Buttler, which has not been taken without a touch of disgruntlement by Bairstow, although hammering 174 for Yorkshire on Wednesday was a decent way to release any lingering frustrations. Both are unlikely to make the starting XI for the Champions Trophy, but the feeling is that Billings is first reserve either with bat or gloves, which is another reminder of the rude health of England's batting depth.

It bodes well for next month, but there is enough time for some challenges to be thrown in their direction. Ireland would like nothing more than to give them - and their fellow countryman Morgan - a few pretty-tournament jitters.