England make their mark in ODIs

Mike Atherton, writing in the Times, says England are finally emerging from their limited-overs shadows with a series win in South Africa. The result, he says, is due to their acceptance of the fact that athleticism is non-negotiable, and their increased emphasis on power-batting.

With England and one-day cricket, though, any success is worth celebrating.

It is with the management team that we must start, because Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower, captain and team manager respectively, have wrought, arguably, an even bigger improvement in England’s one-day fortunes since the drubbing by Australia than they did with the Test side after the debacle in Jamaica — a performance that led to a great deal of soul-searching and, thereafter, to greater honesty. An Ashes victory was the end game of that change in attitude; a World Cup showing better than any since 1992 now their aim in the limited-overs game.