Back in 2015, England, undoubtedly one of the most prominent teams in the cricket world, had lost their bearings in the ODI World Cup in Australia. But what did they do after that debacle?
A new set of batters and bowlers emerged in what was then Eoin Morgan’s young team. This team would go to New Zealand right after the World Cup 2015, and in the next four years, won the World Cup and won it at home.
That was 2019.
But, the defending champions entered the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 as the “Favourites”, with Jos Buttler among the most powerful faces. Alas, a sorry state of results ensued.
Don’t England find themselves in a similar state of affairs where they were at the conclusion of the CWC 2015?
Little surprise then that for the England tour of West Indies, Her Majesty’s cricketing force has added a young bowling force and some familiar faces in the batting department as well.
We all have heard about the batters who have made it to the ODI squad as they have featured in Test cricket, but do we know about the bowlers that Buttler will hope power England to a new dawn in the Caribbean?
Brydon Carse
A South African-born fast bowler with quick-arm bowling action, Brydon Carse has made it to the ODI team for the West Indies tour. Well, this is not the first time he will be playing for England,but he is among the fresh faces in the new-looking England side.
He made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 2021 when the whole England team were under isolation due to Covid-19.
Since then, he has featured in 12 games only, picking up 14 wickets including a fifer against Pakistan.
Being over 6ft, he has the tendency to get extra bounce from the pitch, which disturbs the batters.
Not to forget, he has a first-class hundred to his name and can hit some long balls as well, which means that he is just a few innings away to get the tag of an all-rounder.
He was also the joint-highest wicket-taker while playing for Durham with 35 wickets in the Royal London Cup which makes an obvious place for him in the national team.
Tom Hartley
The 24-year-old left-arm orthodox spinner finds a place in the mix of England’s ODI squad. He was a part of the recent ODI series against Ireland and could only play a couple of games, while one of them was washed away.
He could not showcase what he could bring to the table, thus finding a place for himself to face the Caribbeans.
Tom is known for his accuracy and at 6’4”, his lankiness makes him more effective, extracting that extra bounce from the surface. He can be a huge asset to this English team in the coming years and even in the longest format of the game as he has 40 wickets under his name in 20 first-class matches.
John Turner
Another South Africa-born fast bowler, who is on the cards to make his international debut in the coming days for England, John Turner, is just 22.
He is another 6ft tall bowler, who has been picked for the West Indies tour. He was a part of the recent T20I series against New Zealand, but due to injury, he had to pull out.
Now that he has the opportunity in front of him, he will look to capitalise on it.
While his coach has linked his action to the great Glenn McGrath, if he can be any bit of a bowler like him, England would be pleased to play him for a very long time. His pace and recent form have fetched him a place in the young England squad.
Gus Atkinson
Gus might not be a new name for everyone, but he has just begun playing for the England team.
He made an impressive T20I debut against New Zealand recording 4-20 as the best T20I figures from England. Having experience of just five ODI games, England took him to India for the World Cup, where he got to play just one game.
The about-to-begin England tour of West Indies will be an amazing opportunity for Atkinson as we approach the T20 World Cup 2024. In just 14 first-class games, he has picked 45 wickets with the best figures of 6/68.
If he continues his recent form, he will surely be in the scheme of things for England going forward.
These four guns will be the ones to keep an eye on for the future. There are a couple more youngsters who will be equally important during the West Indies tour, Will Jacks and Matthew Potts.
The former is a batting all-rounder, while Potts has already featured in Tests for England and possesses some great fast-bowling skills.
That told, it’ll be interesting to see how these players can fuel the English tour of West Indies 2023 in the absence of redoubtable names like Mark Wood, Ben Stokes, and David Willey and the likes.
image source- Wisden
