England seek clarity for seam attack as ODI reboot gathers pace

Clarity is all the rage in English cricket.

Upon Brendon McCullum's Test appointment in 2022, then ECB strategic director Andrew Strauss said the Kiwi "blew us away with his clarity of thinking". Stuart Broad was soon to praise McCullum for his relentless positive energy. "Running towards the danger" quickly became England's catchphrase as players publicly and privately spoke of the most enjoyable environment they'd played in.

The missing link for those outside the group is what McCullum's magic words actually are. Zak Crawley shared a Chinese proverb once, which was nice, but players line up to praise McCullum for the small messages, delivered at the right time.

"Go out there and whack the spinners," was Tom Banton's example of McCullum's divine intervention. It's going to DVD soon, apparently.

But when you're a player with the CV of McCullum, it really is the messenger, as much as the message, that makes it count.

And he's succeeding. The T20 team is doing well, even if the ODI side remains a work in progress, winning just eight of their 23 ODIs since the 2023 World Cup. A conscious effort has been made to make this squad a team, with the pre-series trip to Queenstown a nod to that. So too are McCullum and Brook trying to create a settled group of players who know the shirt is theirs.

"That's the exact reason," Brook confirmed, when asked why England had chosen the same XI for all three matches, rained off or otherwise. "We're trying to settle the team as much as possible."

And again, McCullum, and Brook, are succeeding. From the start of the English summer, when the two began their work together, nine players have played in all six ODIs that England have played. So too have six players played all eight T20Is where McCullum and Brook have been present.

"I think the balance of the side is pretty good at the minute," was Brook's summation after Auckland.

Counterintuitively, the T20 group is the more settled. At least in terms of balance. England have decided on the spin combo of Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid - the "wily old foxes" as Brook describes them - meaning the return of Sam Curran leaves the team with three seamers and two spinners. When it comes to the World Cup and more spin-friendly surfaces, bringing Will Jacks in for Curran will be an option.

There is only one area that remains up for grabs. The ODI seam attack.

So far, Rashid has held down the sole specialist spinner role as England have picked three seamers. Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse are locks when fit, but the third and final spot is unspoken for.

Across the summer, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Matthew Potts and Sonny Baker all appeared. Extend that to the start of the year and Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson featured. Go back six months further and you have Reece Topley and John Turner. Luke Wood, who has played only two ODIs, is in the current squad and could feature this series. But ...

"Where I sit in the pecking order, I couldn't tell you," Wood said following the washed out T20I at Auckland.

For the six ODIs in which Brook and McCullum have been in charge, they've plumped for four specialist bowlers with the fifth to be made up from whoever else is on hand to help out, to allow them to pick seven specialist batters. "Imagine having us five-down and Will Jacks comes out to bat?" Brook said of the strategy earlier this year.

It is an aggressive option, but its shortcomings were exposed against South Africa at Lord's when the spin of Jacob Bethell and Jacks conceded 112 runs between them.

Jacks, who has played all six ODIs in a new role at seven so far, is injured for this series, opening the door for a return for Curran and a slight shift in team balance. And with Archer absent from the first match with one eye on the Ashes, his spot, plus that of the third seamer, is open.

Which brings us back to clarity. Two seamers will lace up for the first ODI in Mount Maunganui, with only one able to survive to Hamilton for the second. Baker played one match in the summer before he was discarded. Potts played two but didn't make the plane for New Zealand. Overton played two while England continue to try and mould him into the player they want and believe he can be. Mahmood played four but is now injured.

It is a fact of sport that plans can never be perfect, even more so with fast bowlers where injuries are that more regular. Nevertheless, under McCullum and Brook they have tried their best to make it so.

The ODI World Cup is still almost exactly two years away, giving England time to pick this group. Back it, and see how it develops. They have made their bed with the majority of the side, the New Zealand series is the first step to seeing how the final part of the jigsaw lands.