Morgan preaches freedom

Suddenly, things don't look all that glum for England. Written out of contention for the World Cup for months, they appear to have found something resembling a winning combination in recent weeks.

Moeen Ali has provided valuable enterprise at the top of the order, Ian Bell is settling in as his new partner, and Stuart Broad and James Anderson are returning to fitness at a timely moment. In Eoin Morgan, England have also chosen a new leader who is not only accomplished at the format but capable of fostering a relaxed and confident mood among a squad that had for some time previously looked like they were not having much fun at all.

The effect was writ large across England's freewheeling victory over the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra, where a tally of 391 was bankrolled by Bell's 187 after Moeen had sprinted to 71 from 49 balls. Such scores and scoring rates were anathema to England's stodgier old formula, and Morgan said freedom of expression was now actively encouraged.

"The group of players we have need that trust and that confidence to go and play the way they do," he said. "We've got probably a handful of free-spirited cricketers, Moeen is one of them in particular, and in order for us to have a successful campaign I think it's crucial that we have guys confident enough and comfortable enough to trust their own game.

"I think over the last eight months in particular with our batting, we've seen a change in our method. We have been more aggressive, we've tended to take bowling attacks on. I think before then we had a formula that worked at home, and it worked really, really well. It'd seen us get to No.1, it'd seen us get to the final of an ICC Champions Trophy and we had a lot of success with it.

"We looked at reassessing at the start of our summer last year where we would be coming into the World Cup. Mindset and method wise we're in a good place, particularly with our batting. Adapting and assessing conditions is crucial. You can come out all guns blazing but the wicket might not allow dictate that you're allowed to play that way so you have to be a good enough player to assess the conditions and play accordingly. I think Moeen has done that really really well since he's been in the side."

England's last ODI venture in Australia followed their 5-0 Ashes humiliation at the hands of Mitchell Johnson and company. Morgan pointed out that while defeated, his side had played some quite presentable cricket during the series, often falling short due to a lack of confidence rather than a gulf of talent between the sides - as demonstrated by James Faulkner's last-gasp rescue of an Australian chase in Brisbane.

"The last one-day series here the result in the series didn't really reflect how we played. I thought we played some really good cricket," Morgan said. "Off the back of a poor Test series the Australians took advantage of momentum and at crucial times. Brisbane and Adelaide in particular were games we would have won in the past but guys were low on confidence and we failed to get across the line.

"The priority for us is getting confidence in winning games going forward. It'd be nice to be sitting here at the end of this series with some silverware and very confident of where we're going as a side and very confident what our side's going to be. I know throughout this series it might throw up a couple of things, because Australia can be a difficult place to tour, it can be a difficult place to adapt to conditions. But I certainly think that we're one of the sides that finds it a lot easier to adapt."

Of course it cannot be forgotten that Kevin Pietersen is also in Australia, trying to win friends and influence people via the Big Bash League. Pietersen and Morgan have always had a healthy relationship, but England's captain offered a polite and firm indication that England were moving on without him.

"I'm very happy with the group of players I have, I think this is the best group of players we have to drive the England team forward over the next two months in particular," Morgan said. "Kevin's situation hasn't changed over the last year. It's been reiterated over months and days. It was reiterated before Christmas by the chairman of selectors and I'm reiterating it again just to clear it up."

It is not new to hear England and Morgan say they are looking forward. What's different now is that for the first time in near enough to a year they actually sound like they believe it.