England batted with superb composure, a much needed quality and criticism is very harsh. That sort of batting combined with form from England's strike bowlers will win more games than it loses, a distinct turnaround.
In a team that needs to eradicate top order worries first and foremost, big top order partnerships are much more important than a couple of boundaries. It's always easy to lament missed chances in hindsight, but when they were scoring at around 4 rpo, there's no way you could guarantee that a different method wouldn't throw away wickets (and at 20 overs, they were 1/88, what a tragedy
. The run rate can always be accelerated so long as wickets are in hand.
That said, 78 runs isn't that much in the final 10 overs, or 108 in the last 15, for that matter, although I don't blame them for not knowing what to do with 8 spare wickets. Give them time to work on that, although, Cook getting his first century is a lot better than him getting out in the 80s or 90s.
Interesting signs from Bell, showing good power, as well as good strike rotation and of course his first ODI century. Perhaps this is a reaction to being left out of the South Africa tour. Perhaps in maturity, he is fighting out of the cocoon of a defensive player and grafter to become a more dynamic and all-round batman, not unlike the path of Justin Langer.
