Speculation that Andy Flower’s tenure as England’s team director may draw to a close after the next Ashes series has brought Giles, England’s one-day coach, into focus.
As a result of Flower’s policies of rest and rotation, Giles has not been able to work with a full-strength one-day side since his ascension to the one-day role at the start or the year, a position he finds himself in again.
A sensitive player, Giles has matured into sterner stuff. Those who have seen him evolve from England cricketer to Warwickshire’s team director to his current coaching role speak of a man who is strong-minded with clear ideas.
The unfamiliarity within this squad will have blurred some of that lucidity and judging from their recent match against Ireland in Dublin, England looked a proper bowler short, a curious decision now there is once more a new ball at each end.
Australia’s attack, by contrast, looks strong in most departments with only the spin of Fawad Ahmed untested at this level.
Giles’s challenge for the opening NatWest match against Australia, at Headingley, is where to bat Kevin Pietersen.
On Thursday, Eoin Morgan, England’s captain in the absence of the resting Alastair Cook, said they would consider Pietersen’s previous role as an opener but also his current one in the middle order.
If Friday’s side is one that looks forward to the next World Cup, then a middle-order role for Pietersen is unlikely, what with Joe Root, Morgan, Ravi Bopara and Jos Buttler occupying four to seven.
That leaves No 3, usually the domain of Jonathan Trott, or one of the opening spots, which neither Michael Carberry nor Luke Wright was able to lay claim to in Dublin.
Pietersen last opened against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates 18 months ago, when he made successive hundreds, but forfeited his position when he retired from one-day cricket two months later. As a result the job fell to Cook and Ian Bell, the pair opening for the last 27 ODIs before both were rested for in Dublin.
On Thursday, in the nets, Pietersen slogged away with the air of someone not really fussed about his intended role (he averages 58.8 as opener but 116 at No?5), though he did something similar before the Test here against South Africa last year, and played one of the great innings.
England handed out three new caps in Dublin but only two of them, Carberry and Boyd Rankin, are likely to play here, though Steven Finn has not been threatening to take many wickets with the new ball, the prime reason for his inclusion, which gives Chris Jordan or Jamie Overton an outside chance.
Whoever plays, Giles will tell them what is expected of them in a calm but incisive way. A good communicator, one habit he has been advised to drop is his jotting down of notes, Rafael BenÃtez style, every time an error is made. If it makes experienced players anxious, as the TV director zooms in on him scribbling frantically, it could play havoc among the youngsters, especially if Aaron Finch starts teeing off as he did in the T20 match at the Ageas Bowl when he struck 156 off 63 balls.
How Giles and his team handle themselves during this series is unlikely to have that much bearing on the next World Cup in 18 months time, but it could be germane if Flower does decide to go after the next Ashes series. Then, when the pros and cons of his successors are assessed, this series, especially if Giles can turn the raw ingredients he has been handed into gold, could count double in his favour.
