Action plan for English cricket.

For a number of people, the start of the county season this Sunday will come as a huge relief. This winter has been a disaster for English cricket after a whitewash in the Ashes, Kevin Pietersen's dismissal from the England team and a horrific World Cup campaign in Bangladesh. 

Out of 23 matches, England have managed to win just five, demonstrating how poor the national team have been in all forms of cricket, with no confirmed Head coach and Ashley Giles achieving no outright success to bolster his chances for cementing the job.

It seems an impossible task to diagnose, but here are some of the reason I feel England have been struggling and some possible ways for them to improve.

Don't forget about Carberry: 

Carberry is a dangerous player in
limited overs cricket.

Michael Carberry, like so many others, experienced a horrific spell in the England team, after he was thrown in at the deep end, opening alongside Alastair Cook in an Ashes Test - not a task any cricketer would want to be given.

His form for Hampshire finally earned him International recognition, but he seems to have been misused by England and quite substantially too. Renowned for being an explosive limited overs player, Carberry has been shunned of late, after he was denied the opportunity to prove why he deserved a place in England's World Cup squad or even the limited overs matches against Australia.

England's batting displays during the World Cup were
abysmal, especially when you consider the vast experience of the selected squad in this format, with the likes of Morgan, Lumb and Buttler failing to live up to reputation.

In Carberry, England would have had an experienced opening batsman but instead opted for the safer choice of Moeen Ali who, with the greatest of respect, is not a belligerent batsman. In a game dominated by boundary hitters, Carberry was the obvious choice.

Move on from KP:

Kevin Pietersen is England's most successful T20 batsman in every sense of the word. He has the most runs, highest average and most sixes of any English batsman in this format of the game. However, the longer we keep throwing his name into the mix, the more harm it is likely to do.

KP will be enjoying lucrative spells in the Indian and Caribbean Premier League competitions, but if he is no longer part of the England team then there is nothing we can do about it.

Certainly, the reluctancy of staff, senior players and ECB officials to disclose the full details on why they parted company should leave us with a certain amount of frustration, but, to say he would have wholly transformed our entire winter of suffering would be foolish.

Moving forward, it is best for the current team to support the decisions of the England management and ECB rather than cause further disruptive behaviour, which seems to be the only reason given for Pietersen's sacking.

Have faith in the new generation: 

Vince's form at Hampshire has recently
earned him the role of vice-captain.

There are a surplus of talented players on the county scene waiting for an England call-up, but there seems to be a certain amount of resistance to disconnect from an established set-up.

The current squad greatly benefitted from introducing the likes of Jordan, who had a strong season with Sussex and I believe that more players of his calibre would improve the current state of affairs.

Players like James Vince of Hampshire, Sam Robson of Middlesex and Scott Borthwick of Durham are improving all the time, but just because they are young doesn't mean that they shouldn't be given a chance.

If a regular first team player doesn't perform at county level, he is replaced by a member of the second team. The England team has the largest 'reserve' of players possible and as such there should be a massive competition for places. If we make players indispensable with centralised and incremental contracts, it can prevent good players from coming through the ranks.

Competition for places and having something to play for give players a greater purpose and if their International status is at risk they are likely to care more about how they play.

Enough with the scapegoating already:

When you lose to Australia in such significant terms as England did, names start to crop up. Individuals who are, apparently, single-handedly responsible for the entire failing of a team on such a regular basis.

To say that you win as a team and lose as a team is one of those cringeworthy lines often given in a post-match interview, but, in this instance, it has great significance.

Just as Pietersen would not be able to reverse England's fortunes on his own, the likes of Matt Prior and Jonathan Trott experiencing a dip in form cannot be used as a blanket excuse for such a disappointing run of results.

The humiliation faced by England against the Netherlands in the most recent defeat demonstrates how many of England's players all share the same problem - lack of application.

And finally, utilise the start of the season:

Anderson will get some useful practice with Lancashire
as he prepares for a tough summer with England. 

Many of England's players will be available for the start of the county season and this will give them ideal practice ahead of the Summer.

James Anderson has said that he will be at Lancashire for the first half of the season and will spur him to perform to ensure he has a place in the Test teams against Sri Lanka and India.

A busy winter schedule may see some of the England camp take a break from playing, but the likes of Jos Buttler will be keen to prove they are worthy of a Test spot and will play as often as possible to demonstrate their talents in red-ball cricket.

When you want to get better at something, practice is often the key and the start of the county season gives the England players the perfect opportunity to rediscover some form ahead of a tough summer.