West Indies vs England 2019: 5 key takeaways from the ODI series

England’s struggle to cope with unusual batting challenges

England's batsmen have shown an inability to adjust to conditions at times

England have performed splendidly in ODIs since their humiliating ouster from the first round of the 2015 World Cup. The only glitch in their performance has been the seeming inability of the batting line-up to adapt to challenges which are different from the usual ones they are faced with.

In the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, they failed to come to grips with a slower surface and lost to Pakistan.

It has to be remembered that the main reason for England’s poor performance in the 2015 World Cup was diagnosed to be the outdated, overly-cautious style of their batting. Hence, after the World Cup, the team adopted a highly aggressive approach and in a couple of years’ time, they were mounting new heights of success in ODIs.

But at times, they have failed to rein in their aggression and play according to the situation. This was again evident in the final ODI of this series. On a bouncy pitch where they needed to adjust their techniques to the conditions and, maybe, take some time to settle down, the batters kept trying to attack. This tactic backfired.

The presence of Joe Root in the team is precisely to provide some stability in such situations. His superior technique is supposed to help his team navigate through tough situations. However, the rest of the batting line-up is also required to show some more adaptability in tough situations.

With the quality of their line-up, England are almost certain to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. But in the knock-out matches, a slip-up like the one witnessed in Champions Trophy semi-final or in the last match against WI could be fatal. More flexibility is required from the batting line-up.