Friday, January 18, 2002 Bob Woolmer explains what England need to do to win the one-day series in India

One-day cricket currently resembles a river in motion: always changing, sometimes slowly, sometimes at pace. It will be the team that best keeps pace with and brings about the change that will win the World Cup.

The changes are usually only small and can be difficult to spot. Already I see the all-conquering Australians stutter into a new series, losing three in a row, and the biggest change has been New Zealand's approach to these games. They are now playing with some confidence and are not overawed by their illustrious opponents. And they have specific tactics for bowling out individuals. This is significant - they have a plan.

It will be interesting to see the strategies that England use against India, who are always difficult to beat at home. The batting surfaces will need to be good for both teams otherwise the toss can be a real factor in India, with the pitch breaking up so badly in the second innings that no-one has a chance. For the sake of entertainment I hope that the pitches are such that a side can win batting first or second just by playing better cricket.

The opening partnership of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar is both India's strength and their Achilles heel. They are India's two best one-day batters and they can destroy you, but by the same token a dismissal can destroy India, as their middle-order riches are nowhere near as plentiful.

It is therefore just as important to try to get them out as it is to restrict their ability to hit boundaries. The line you bowl to Ganguly is vital: at the body, no room outside off stump, and with a catcher on his notorious pick-up shot. With one bouncer an over now allowed he won't find it quite so easy to rock onto the front foot.

Bowling sides out, rather than restricting their run-flow, has become the vogue recently - we saw Australia employ those tactics in England for the one-day series and now New Zealand are giving the Aussies a taste of their own medicine: Chris Cairns was even employing a slip as late as the 39th over of Australia's reply, when he duly induced that crucial nick off Michael Bevan. And Shaun Pollock held the slip in for a long time against New Zealand as well when they were pressing the South African total.

India will rely heavily on their spinners to slow England down - and indeed to bowl them out - and this is an area where the series will be won and lost. England cannot afford to lose wickets but at the same time they must take five or six runs an over off them. If they can do that it will apply unbearable pressure on the Indian bowling strategy.

They could do worse than follow Craig McMillan's example, who was not afraid to take on Shane Warne and change his length by sweeping him and coming down the wicket. What was impressive was McMillan's shot-selection and decisive foot movement: these were vital to his success. Warne was destroyed and Australia were exposed. England too will have to destroy Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, presuming they play, as well as take on the Indian seamers. Only by doing that can they amass a large total and then apply pressure by taking wickets.

With the emphasis on taking wickets as much as keeping the runs down, selection becomes a key issue: just who is going to take the wickets? How many batsmen do England need to play? Of their front-line bowlers (Gough, Caddick, Hoggard, Flintoff), who is the best at obtaining the reverse-swing that can be so deadly in the subcontinent? Will the pitch spin? Who is going to see England through to victory?

I believe that every team needs a cool head when chasing. Jonty Rhodes, Chris Harris and Steve Waugh are the sort of people who have stood out in this area. Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe should take on this mantle coming in at Nos 5 and 6 to steer the ship home.

My side would be: 1 Knight, 2 Trescothick, 3 Flintoff, 4 Vaughan/Shah, 5 Thorpe, 6 Hussain, 7 Hollioake, 8 Snape, 9 Foster, 10 Giles, 11 Gough/Caddick/Hoggard (take your pick)

That gives England five front-line bowlers - I consider Hollioake to be one as he has serious pace – plus Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan. They would also have six top-order batters, including Flintoff, who can do all sorts of damage in the first 15 overs, plus two spinners suited to the one-day game. Trescothick can help out with his seamers should one of the spinners be hit out of the attack.

England are at a renaissance stage and have the makings of a useful one-day outfit. It is now up to the players to believe in themselves, focus on their ability and special disciplines of the one-day game, and just get on and start winning.

Bob Woolmer is Warwickshire's coach and ICC's high-performance manager. He was coach of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

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