With Alex Hales nearing full fitness, Sam Billings knows he has limited chances to prolong his run in the side and stake a Champions Trophy claim
George Dobell in Antigua04-Mar-2017It is not easy being Sam Billings at the moment. Having waited months for another opportunity in an England shirt – his last three ODI appearance have come in three different series in three different countries – he has been asked to bat in an unfamiliar position and play aggressive, selfless cricket while knowing that he requires a significant score to retain his position.Furthermore, he has been asked to provide such a contribution on pitches that, if the first ODI in Antigua is any guide, render strokeplay desperately difficult.And if there was any doubt whether he could retain his place once Alex Hales is deemed ready to return, it was all but dispelled by Eoin Morgan’s post-match comments on Friday. “Hales is a very formidable player and has scored a lot of runs when we’ve won games,” Morgan said. “Whether Billings plays on Sunday depends on how Hales has pulled up after training.”Not that’s he complaining. Billings can see the bigger picture and knows that England’s depth in limited-overs batting is a considerable asset. It just doesn’t make life any easier for him. Besides, as he says, “I’m playing for England in the West Indies. What’s not to enjoy?”Realistically, Billings is playing for a place in England’s Champions Trophy squad. He has the ability to bat anywhere in the top seven and to keep wicket, which renders him an ideal inclusion, but it is hard to see how he squeezes into a full-strength side. Certainly not as an opener, where Hales and Jason Roy seemed nailed in, or in a top six which looks set to filled out by Joe Root, Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. While there is a possibility he could play as an extra batsman at No. 7, England seem keen to have the services of a sixth bowler.That leaves Billings the second ODI in Antigua – if, as expected, Hales is not yet deemed ready to return – and perhaps the two games against Ireland in May in which to make his case. Jonny Bairstow, despite looking as good as anyone in training and the warm-ups, is even further back in the pack with Liam Livingstone making a late run thanks to his Lions performances. It could be Livingstone who replaces Ben Stokes, who will be at the IPL, in the side for the Ireland ODIs.”I can’t really afford to think about Hales,” Billings said. “He’s been in fantastic form over the past year and he’s a fantastic player. It’s a credit to the squad that we have that depth.”It’s professional sport and it’s good for the side that there’s so much competition. But as an individual I’ve really got to make these chances count. I have to really make it count and make three figures. I definitely feel like I’m in a good place to do that.”Of course it’s frustrating. I got one game in Bangladesh and I made 65. If I’d made 100 I would have really pressed my claim.”Billings admitted to some frustration after his innings on Friday, too. While he made a plucky half-century – his second in three ODI innings – he conceded he “gave it away” by driving to short midwicket when well set.
“Series on series we’re improving in different conditions. We want to play our brand of cricket but with an intelligent side to it”
Still, it was an intelligent innings in demanding circumstances. With Shannon Gabriel bowling, in Billings words ,”quickly and well” and the pitch offering seam movement and variable bounce, England were obliged to readjust their expectations of a competitive total and soak up a lot of dot balls before starting to accelerate. It was a pleasing sign of progress from a developing sign, albeit against inexperienced opposition.”You look at anyone who got runs and they started off pretty slowly, then built,” Billings said. “We were joking when we were out there. We really couldn’t hit the ball off the square to start with. That may be the way of it here. It’s a bit old-fashioned. You have to keep wickets in hand and really make hay towards the back end.”The pitch wasn’t that good, so you had to fight for your runs. Morgan’s hundred was as good as you’ll see, because the batting conditions weren’t there.”We adapted well. Our whole ethos is to attack and take the positive option. But here we had to fight for your runs. Series on series we’re improving in different conditions. We want to play our brand of cricket but with an intelligent side to it.”At first glance it might appear that such pitches – pitches that will do nothing to attract Caribbean spectators back to grounds – render this series little use as practice ahead of the Champions Trophy. After all, the expectation is that the tournament will be played on excellent batting tracks. That’s the ECB’s intention, anyway, and there seems no reason why it will not be fulfilled.But it is worth recalling the surface used for the final of the 2013 tournament. With the regulations forbidding the Edgbaston groundstaff to water the surface for some time before the final, it was played on a desperately dry, slow pitch. It won’t do England any harm to have some experience of adapting to such conditions.Liam Dawson is another man pushing for selection in Sunday’s second ODI. England’s spinners were out-bowled by West Indies’ on Friday and with the pitch likely to prove even slower and more spin friendly in the second ODI – the same strip will be used – there is a case for Dawson to come in either as a replacement (Adil Rashid appears most vulnerable) or as a third spinner. With Root also able to contribute a few overs of offspin – he bowled five on Friday – Dawson may be frustrated, though. The competition for places has to be for the greater good, but for the individuals involved it must be tough to take.