Geoff Boycott column

By Geoff Boycott Former England batsman

We haven't learned much from England's one-day series in India. We knew before it started that we were number six in the world - an average to poor one-day side - and this series has confirmed that.

England have been going through the motions in the one-dayers in India and some players who've had opportunities aren't up to it

The young players who have had opportunities because of injuries are not that good: Ian Bell, Owais Shah, Vikram Solanki, Liam Plunkett, Kabir Ali or Matt Prior have not captured the imagination.

None of these have said we ought to take them to the World Cup. They've failed the examination in my view.

England have been without five key players: Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Ashley Giles, Simon Jones and Steve Harmison.

How would the team do in the Caribbean if they were all fit? No-one knows because they never have a fully-fit side for the one-dayers.

If you look at the last couple of years, we've never had the same team out on the field and that is because England have made Test match cricket their priority.

They focused so much on winning the Ashes to the detriment of their one-day form and the danger now is they are focusing on the Ashes in Australia this winter to the detriment of the World Cup.

I don't think they can say that when the Ashes series is finished in January that they'll switch on to the World Cup, which takes place two months later - it doesn't work like that.

Australia don't look it like that. They make winning a good habit in both forms of the game and that's why they've won the last two World Cups and been world champions at Test cricket for the last decade or more.

England simply don't have their best team out all the time. People need to know what their role is and fit into a system like a jigsaw. It's nice to know where you fit into the scheme to have a pattern and plan to the play.

Vaughan has said winning the World Cup is his next priority but I'm not convinced he really means it

We can't have a plan or pattern because we never know who's playing from one week to the next - the top players are never playing together.

I'm not saying we're not trying or don't care. That's a dangerous thing to say about a sportsman, but to be focused on it is different.

Matthew Hoggard was quoted as saying that it's more important to win the Ashes this winter than the World Cup. The Australians want to win both and therein lies the difference.

We put one-dayers second after Tests and don't see it as a major importance. That's why people miss games and go home with a niggle they might play in a Test with. They go home to rest for the next Test series.

Vaughan has said winning the World Cup is his next priority. He's said the right thing PR-wise but I'm not convinced he really means it with the way their focus is.

The Test team is looking good but in one-dayers we don't know how good they could be. They are very ordinary at the moment and have been for two years.

The team isn't focused and isn't saying it wants to win the World Cup - if you're not going to focus on everything don't play it.

England have been going through the motions in the one-dayers in India and some of the players who've had opportunities aren't up to it.