Not enough one-day internationals?
The current one-day series between England and Australia has been a tedious appendage to the Ashes, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
The current one-day series between England and Australia has been a tedious appendage to the Ashes, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian. However, he also argues that England are so poor at the format because they've actually played too little ODI cricket over the years.
There has been limited-overs cricket played here at first-class level since 1963 and England have yet to win a major trophy. It does not stack up. But experience at county level does not translate into experience at international level. Put simply, almost all other international teams have played more one-day cricket. Whether the benchmark for an established player is 30 games or 50, the fact is that England cricketers have been deprived of competition. This latest series is what you get if that is the road you take.
When it comes to real experience, England are near the bottom of the heap. In the list of the most capped one-day players, Alec Stewart, top of the England roll with 170 caps, is 81st. So there will not really be much to shout about when Paul Collingwood, in all probability, goes past him but stops some way short of Sanath Jayasuriya's 436 appearances. Generally, English players play too much domestic one-day cricket and not enough international.
In the Times, Mike Atherton is frustrated by the myopia of cricket administrators, "who continue to believe that piling games high and cheap will not detract from their quality". And so, to keep himself amused during a dull series, he has come up with his all-time England one-day international XI.
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here