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Man-for-man-marking: Heroes and zeroes of England's disastrous one-day series

Stephen Brenkley
Monday 21 September 2009 00:00 BST
Comments

Andrew Strauss The only batsman who has regularly looked like scoring runs but as culpable as everybody else for getting out when set. Has managed to remain phlegmatic despite the burgeoning cares of captaincy. 5/10

Joe Denly In patches has looked the part – flamboyant, fearless – but playing your own game is different from judging your own game. But there is something there. Would be good if the selectors have got this one right. 4

Ravi Bopara The most important part of promise and potential is that they are realised. Bopara, bubbly and bold, is almost 50 matches in to his ODI career and has four fifties to show. Still getting out carelessly. 0

Matt Prior Not good enough by half, because he is too good a batsman to have produced the figures he has, and it is unreasonable to keep claiming he is the best keeper-batsman when he has two fifties in 47 matches. 1

Paul Collingwood A tired cricketer on the slide. The fact that he is available for Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League which follows the Champions Trophy and precedes the tour of South Africa is folly for him and England. 2

Owais Shah By now he should be one of England's most popular cricketers, with a sparkling array of big shots. But he is in a mess, accident-prone and fretful at the crease and it doesn't look like getting better. 0

Eoin Morgan Morgan, picked earlier in the summer, had been in woeful form for Middlesex and asking him to climb out of it against Australia was misguided. He has coped reasonably but ODI batting is not just about smart shots. 2

Luke Wright He plays with such obvious joy that it is impossible not to warm to him. It remains possible that he is not quite good enough at the highest level but bats, bowls and fields fiercely and is worth persevering with. 3

Adil Rashid Performed admirably in the opening game of the series but was then dropped, which might explain the rough edges which showed through when he was recalled and dropped again. Has future. 4

Graeme Swann Batting in impossible situations, bowling on unsuitable pitches, has not risen to the occasion as he might have done – until yesterday. Suffering from overuse as much as anybody, needs to ask more questions. 5

Dimitri Mascarenhas Summoned to squad to cover for injured Wright and performed adequately. But that may be that for his international career. 4

Tim Bresnan Part of the problem is that he looks as if he is going for a shift dahn't pit rather than batting and bowling for England. He looks short of class but these are still early days for the seam-bowling (going for nearly six an over) all-rounder. 4

Stuart Broad Not taking enough wickets, like all the others, and like many of his mates needs to sleep for a week in a place where cricket has never been heard of. 3

James Anderson Poor Jimmy. Rested for three games in the middle of the series, he has looked grumpy and unhappy as though he was being forced to play or otherwise something really nasty would be done to him. Occasional flashes, nothing more. 2

Ryan Sidebottom Has looked well short of the necessary on his return to the side. Runs conceded just about adequate but looks to have forgotten how to take upper-order wickets. Would cutting his hair give him back his strength? 1

Graham Onions Played only match yesterday ,which was his debut on his home ground. As the best bowler in England at present, should have played before. Did nothing wrong and much right. 7

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