Bopara may suffer as Giles plans big changes

England team director Andy Flower spoke about the need to begin a new era following the Ashes whitewash and, after the ODIs hardly went much better, Giles believes he has to make some “tough selection decisions”.

Giles was pleased with the rise of younger players such as Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan, but is wary of focusing too much on promise alone.

With a World Cup just 12 months away, the 40-year-old believes discovering a winning mentality is the most important ingredient he is looking for.

Missed opportunities in Brisbane and Adelaide, when England snatched defeat from strong positions on both occasions, therefore sit uncomfortably.

“On reflection we could be sitting here having won the series. There are a lot of should-haves, could-haves but we missed a key opportunity in Brisbane,” he said. “It was a situation you would win 99.9 per cent of the time and again in Adelaide.

“We outplayed them and didn’t get over the line.

“We can continue to talk about building towards the World Cup, and there have been some really positive signs, but we have to start winning games of cricket. Guys have to start taking responsibility.”

Following a sub-par series Ravi Bopara, who averaged 18 with the bat, could be one of the established names to come under fire.

The 99-cap player came in for criticism after Sunday’s defeat in Adelaide, when England collapsed to lose by five runs.

Bopara’s inability to steer his side home has previously been regarded as a major failing – most notably in last year’s Champions Trophy final – and he again fell short in South Australia.

The 28-year-old opted for caution after he was left with the tail, managing 26 from 44 balls.

Giles had sympathy for Bopara, who did succumb to a freak stumping on a slow wicket that no batsmen scored freely on, but knows he must start to complete run chases.

He also believes winning games with the bat is a learned art and pointed out that Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler – two of England’s best finishers – were also unable to complete the job in Adelaide.

“It is something with experience you get better at and becomes easier,” he said. “We have guys who have done it before. Morgan and Buttler have done it before. It was fairly difficult conditions but by no means was it impossible and we just needed to keep calm and make strong decisions.”