England, with the pain still raw from their winter of absolute discontent, know that the public’s patience will be in short supply if they fail to hit the ground running when they begin their international season in earnest on Tuesday night.
They may have safely negotiated an early-season trip to Aberdeen but a Twenty20 international against world champions Sri Lanka at The Kia Oval will provide a much stiffer test of whether England are back on the right track.
It was here at this iconic ground last year that England began to lose the warmth of their support, even in the aftermath of a 3-0 Ashes victory, when the arrogance that had crept into their attitude was epitomised by some players urinating on The Oval pitch during their victory celebrations.
Their world subsequently came crashing down in Australia and it is from somewhere near rock bottom that England will emerge under new management and following a welcome and necessary verbal charm offensive.
Eoin Morgan, with leadership aspirations beyond filling in for Stuart Broad, knows England must now regain the faith of a fanbase disillusioned by that Ashes mauling and a World Twenty20 humiliation from Holland.
‘I’ve just heard that this game is a sell-out so it’s great to know the support we have always had is no different now,’ said Morgan. ‘A win would go a long way towards repaying what we owe those fans.’
It will not be easy. Sri Lanka are the most consistent limited-overs team in the world, having contested five of the last seven global finals, and arrived at The Oval this week in far finer fettle than on previous early summer tours. Yet England do not have to look too far back for encouragement as they were the only team to defeat Sri Lanka in that World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
It was Alex Hales, with a brilliant unbeaten 116, who rescued England from the depths of nought for two to defeat Sri Lanka that day in Chittagong and Morgan expects conditions to be similar in south London tonight.
‘There was dew in Bangladesh and it could be the same here,’ said Morgan. ‘We can take huge belief from that performance and I think it will be another high-scoring game this time.’
Hales will have a new opening partner in this match after England’s surprising decision to jettison Michael Lumb, with either Ian Bell or Michael Carberry being given the responsibility of taking advantage of the power-play overs.
There will be no Kumar Sangakkara nor Mahela Jayawardene in the Sri Lanka side following their retirement from short-form cricket and England have turned to new assistant Paul Farbrace for advice on those who will turn out instead.
‘He has been key to our preparation,’ said Morgan of the man who left Sri Lanka after that World Twenty20 win over India when he was head-hunted by England. ‘He knows their guys inside out.’
Morgan, England’s key one-day batsman, will have the job of utilising that knowledge as captain while Broad continues to recover from a knee injury.
The Irishman will almost certainly be confirmed as permanent Twenty20 captain later this summer when Broad is expected to stand down.
That could be just the start for captain Morgan who, if he manages to cement a Test place, remains the only viable alternative to Alastair Cook should things go badly for the England skipper this summer.
‘Leadership roles are something I’d want to take on,’ said Morgan. ‘I think my strengths would be to stay calm in high-pressure situations and to make good decisions. I think I have a reasonably good cricket brain, too.’
England will need both Morgan’s brain and his bat if they are going to get that all-important win to set them up for the summer.
