England in New Zealand: Ashes hope should remain despite ODI series defeat

Having doubts now is understandable.

That sinking feeling when you wake up and check the score. The deflation of a leg stump knocked back with the clock barely beyond midnight.

Another sleepless night. Another disappointment.

When those feelings return before England have even reached Australian shores, after capitulations against the cuddly New Zealanders rather than the fiercest enemy, you can be forgiven for wavering.

England's 3-0 one-day international series defeat in New Zealand was unsettling but it does not mean Ashes hope is lost.

From Mount Maunganui to Wellington, plus a loss in Hamilton in between, England's batting failings against the Black Caps were undeniably a concerning trend.

Yes, captain Harry Brook lost all three tosses to expose those batters to the worst of conditions on at least two occasions.

Yes, New Zealand's 50-over side, with their 93% win ratio at home since 2019, provide one of the toughest challenges in world sport.

But with four Ashes bankers in England's top five - and the fifth a possible starter in Jacob Bethell - they returned only one innings above 34 between them across three matches.

Bethell, Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Joe Root batted 15 times collectively in the 50-over series and together had nine single-figure scores.

No-one would call that ideal.

"It's a different form of the game and it's a completely different kind of challenge that we're going to be confronted with as well," said coach Brendon McCullum, denying batters would be scarred by the 3-0 series sweep heading into the Ashes.

At no point have England been in New Zealand because they see it as the optimal way to prepare for five Tests in Australia.

These fixtures were part of their wider schedule, dictated by those with a grip on the purse strings and who sign broadcast deals.

England have, instead, tried to make the most of the cramped schedule and ease players back into action after a post-summer break.

Steve Smith's Sheffield Shield century appeared ominous, but fellow Australia middle-order batter Travis Head is also battling through white-ball matches against India, with no score above 30 in four attempts.

Had Root stroked New Zealand's medium-fast pacers for a century in front of Aotearoa's grass banks, few would have said it mattered when it came to facing Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the Perth cauldron with a different ball.

The reverse must also be true.

"Jamie Smith, Joe Root and Ben Duckett, they'll be better for the run, too," McCullum said.

"I'm sure they'll be better for it with the prep that we've had with the other Test guys [bowlers Mark Wood, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson] who've been here for a while, too, we'll have no excuses come Australia."

The batting issues are also not without wider context.

England have lost six of their past seven bilateral series in 50-over cricket in a shocking and concerning run that goes back to the start of the 2023 World Cup.

They lost all 10 wickets in each match of this series, meaning their tally now stands at 18 such failures in 34 ODIs since the start of that tournament in India.

Brook and McCullum have made decent progress with the T20 side - victory against New Zealand prior to the ODIs meant they have won seven of eight completed T20s since Brook took charge at the start of the summer - but the downward turn of the 50-over side is proving far harder to correct.

An assessment made by the New Zealander after the Champions Trophy exit in March still holds true.

"We weren't able to withstand the pressure and we weren't able to navigate our way through," he said. "I felt we lacked confidence.

"In Test cricket, in the last little while, the confidence levels of that unit are very high and [we have] the ability to execute the game plan and the style of cricket we want to."

In Test whites these players have comfort in their roles and the team's clarity. That still eludes McCullum in 50-over cricket.

Smith, who made 18 runs from 24 balls across the series, is the batter that looks the most uncertain.

He appears a natural fit when playing the role of dynamic-yet-correct ball-striker in whites but is too often reckless as an ODI opener.

It is hard not to feel for Smith, who had not batted in England's top three before February.

After his side fell to 33-5 in first ODI, Brook questioned whether his batters could have "gone harder" but that has rarely been England's problem.

Their powerplay run-rate in ODIs has been 6.58 in the past 12 months - the highest of any team in this period. That charge has been countered by the loss of 36 wickets in 17 innings, which is the worst record around.

For Smith a return to the Test middle order, away from the swing and seam of the new ball, will offer relief.

Duckett will not be as fortunate but will be reunited with opening partner Zak Crawley.

Their partnership and an Ashes battle may be what is needed to relight the fire inside England's Bazball attack dog in chief.

Duckett has passed 50 twice in 21 innings since his epic 149 in the first Test against India at the start of the summer.

McCullum was also asked at the Champions Trophy how he would ensure white-ball pain does not bleed into the Test side - an issue he now faces after bringing greater alignment between the two squads.

McCullum pointed to the importance of the "skills of your leaders" and it is there where England turn once again.

Test captain Ben Stokes has been in New Zealand over recent weeks but has stayed away from Brook's squad, instead visiting family and training at his first club Sydenham Cricket Club in Christchurch.

While Brook has made an impressive start to his reign, the return of England's talisman will bring a lift to any that need it.

England disappointed in New Zealand but with a flight to Perth and three weeks within the arms of the captain who makes them feel most at home, there remains plenty of hope for the Ashes.

Now is the time to hold your nerve England fans - however hard that may feel.

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