by Marcus Trescothick has admitted England’s next generation is being held back by a lack of 50-over cricket.
England’s young talents were defeated in Barbados as the West Indies secured a 2-1 victory in an ODI series where several touring players were familiarizing themselves with the format or learning on the job.
With top young talent being sucked into The Hundred over the past three years, their exposure to List A cricket is diminishing as the One-Day Cup runs concurrently and is, in essence, a secondary tournament.
Jordan Cox had only four List A matches under his belt and Dan Mousley had no experience in a one-day match for over three years before the Caribbean trip while before the opening match of series, Adil Rashid, one of the few senior leaders in the group, had more ODI caps than his 10 teammates combined.
Trescothick, England’s interim head coach, knows the situation is far from ideal, as he said: “There’s not a lot of experience in this current squad at the moment .
“It’s not always going to be easy to still be involved, there’s not a huge amount to play at home and most white-ball cricket played around the world is now T20.
“It is a challenge and we are aware of it. This doesn’t help because you don’t get the volume of games that potential players would like to get and don’t really develop an understanding of the game.
“But you know why. This is the structure we have to play and we are going to tackle it and make it work as much as possible.
Phil Salt enhanced his reputation with a few fifties, including a combative innings in Wednesday’s eight-wicket defeat at Bridgetown, but he had been on a diet of T20s or hundreds this year.
The opening batter said before the third ODI that he would like to play in a domestic 50-over competition to regain some comfort, but Trescothick stressed that it is not that simple.
Asked if some youngsters might forgo The Hundred matches to play in the One-Day Cup, Trescothick said: “I’m not going to say against another competition, but of course we want more cricket from 50 years one way or another.
“We know how important Test cricket is in England and having the domestic T20 competition or the hundred competitions that we have, they are vitally important to our game.
“It’s really difficult to get the balance right because, given the volume of international cricket and everything around it, it’s not easy to do.
“For the higher powers, trying to balance that structure and get it right, that’s something they need to look at, but it’s not going to be easy.
“I’m just taking charge of this team for this short period of time. We know who the people are: the board and the general managers, all these different people, it’s up to them to try to find a solution.”
Cox is expected to return to the UK on Thursday, missing the T20 series which begins this weekend, in preparation for taking part in England’s Test tour of New Zealand which begins later this month.
Cox, who is expected to take the wicketkeeping gloves with Jamie Smith on paternity leave, has had a difficult tour scoring 22 runs in three innings while he is yet to make 20 runs in five in an England jersey.
Trescothick added: “I will have a chat with him before he leaves. It will be an exciting time, next month in New Zealand will be really exciting for him.
