5 reasons why England can be world-beaters in ODI cricket

#5 Good death bowling

Chris Jordan’s death-bowling skills have made him a permanent member of the England ODI side

With the balance being shifted in the favour of the batsmen in limited-overs cricket with each passing day, being a bowler has become one of the toughest jobs in cricket, and the bowlers have been reduced to a mere liability instead of being an obligation. In such testing times, England possess a bowling attack that can restrict the flow of runs and pick up wickets at the minimum of expenses.

David Willey has a got a good yorker and is capable of squeezing out the most out of the death overs, and so does Chris Jordan. Woakes and Stokes are equally good with the new ball as well as with the old ball. The slower deliveries that Plunkett possesses have foxed many a batsmen since his return to the ODI scenes.

It must not be construed, however, that England do not leak runs at the death. They do, but the returns that the English bowlers get at the end of the 50 overs are better than most other sides. While defending big totals, when the attack is under pressure, as the oppositon comes at them all guns blazing, England have had the calmness to take things over by over and get the important breakthroughs.

Out of the 7 games that England played batting first after the World Cup of 2015, they managed to win 4. They have won 4 and lost 4 while defending targets in 2016. These returns are decent, if not very impressive, as far as modern-day limited-overs cricket is concerned.