Why poor England can’t be defended

India have much to learn from Englandrsquos fall from grace World Cup cycles span four years and time stands still for no man India have to ensure they have fresh talent that they are prepared to call on when 2027 comes aroundEngland lacked the courage or the depth to renew their 2019 squad Their ignominious exit came as no surprise This was a jaded team playing a brand of cricket that was in stark contrast to their delusional rhetoricAlso ReadShahidi We are a brave nation and wersquove shown that through cricket tooThe great irony is that England have confused Tests with ODI cricket In the recent Ashes there were times when they needed less Bazball and more caution In recent ODIs they chose timidity over temerity fear of failure dominating flair and flamboyanceToporder lacking classThe England toporder quite simply lack the skill and craftsmanship that is required to play on the subcontinent In that chase against Australia with dew imminent and the ball likely to skid on England just lacked the finesse to tick the strike over and keep the runrate under control The sheer number of dot balls was telling Contrast that to craftsmen like Virat Kohli Shreyas Iyer Kane Williamson and Steve Smithhellipwhen theyrsquore not hitting boundaries their ability to manoeuvre the ball into gaps with minimum risk forces the bowler to try something different which then opens up more lucrative options Englandrsquos tactics were bizarremdashthey just dotted up and waited for a release shot Alltoooften that ended in a lofted catch into the outfieldEven the selections were unfathomable They keep talking up Harry Brook as the next big thing but they didnrsquot trust him when it mattered It doesnrsquot speak volumes for their huge investments in academies and England A tours if they still resort to the sanctuary of Joe Root Jonny Bairstow a barelyfit Ben Stokes an outofform Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali who has always been a lightweight under pressure What message does that give to the youngsters coming through domestic cricket That when an opportunity presents itself like it did in the Ashes you go back to the retirement village and recruit someone like Moeen who has never performed against AustraliaWhere are the likes of Shubman Gill Rachin Ravindra Iyer or Sadeera Samarawickrama to showcase the next generation Brook was trumpeted as being Englandrsquos answer but they didnrsquot believe in their own hyperbole when it mattered And if you are going to recycle tried and tested old men the least you can do is ensure they are still fit and hungry Kohli Williamson Quinton de Kock David Warner and even Rohit Sharma look fit fast and focussed A far cry from Englandrsquos Dadrsquos Army squad who never looked like they were prepared for this rigorous odysseyTactical mishapsTheir lack of tactical nous belied their experience Root must have known that he would be targeted on fourth stump trying to nibble to third man Buttler was an instant matchup against Adam Zampa and he fell for it And Stokes was simply not fit enough to sustain another miracleIndiarsquos legends are unlikely to be victims of their own hubris Englandrsquos exit mirror their colonial historymdashno moral victories here just a bunch of old men who couldnrsquot recognise their time in India was well and truly up