England vs. Australia: Problems Hosts Need to Put Right

England head into the fourth One-Day International of the 2013 NatWest Series with much to prove, having been comprehensively second best in what play has been managed amid poor weather conditions over the past week.

While the first fixture was rained off, Australia won the second ODI comfortably by a margin of 88 runs and had England at a disappointing 59-3 before weather struck once more to end the third encounter at Edgbaston.

The hosts may be much changed from their regular ODI lineup, with the likes of Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell rested ahead of the winter's Ashes campaign, but captain Eoin Morgan and his side will be far from content with their showing.

Batting has been a major issue and will be the focus of attention ahead of the final two matches.

In the one completed encounter, just four England batsmen reached double figures, while three of the top four were dismissed for low scores on Wednesday.

In international one-day cricket, that is simply not good enough. While Joe Root has previous good showings to fall back on, the highly-rated Michael Carberry has scored just 15 runs from his three innings in the past 10 days.

Carberry, who has long been on the fringes of the England setup, will likely be afforded until the end of the series to come good on his potential at this level, but he has to get a big score in the next two games or risk being consigned to the scrapheap.

Regular early wickets at the top of the order place undue pressure on those coming in further down the lineup, but that is not to say experienced batsmen Jonathan Trott, Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan can pass on responsibility.

Morgan scored an excellent 50 in the only completed encounter, but his two colleagues made a combined total of one run.

It may be a one-off for the generally excellent Trott, who averages 52 at this level—per ESPNCricinfo—but as a unit the three have to ensure they perform in the final two encounters for England to stand a chance of success.

The bowling was also an area where England were poor in the opening Twenty20 fixture last month.

On the one occasion they have bowled to Australia in the current series, only the consistent Boyd Rankin emerged with a respectable economy rate of 4.9 from his 10 overs, per BBC Sport.

England's four remaining frontline bowlers all went for rates of around a run a ball or over in Manchester as Australia's batsmen cut loose.

Steven Finn and Ravi Bopara may have taken two wickets apiece, but they conceded a combined total of 125 runs on the day.

Spinner James Tredwell, meanwhile, was wicketless and hit for nearly eight an over.

For all concerned, it was a poor day at the office.

The England players have two games in which to justify their continued involvement in the ODI setup.

Both Tredwell and Finn have performed well for England in the past, but in a side that opted to play only three established bowlers, they have to do better.

There is much for the selectors to ponder ahead of the remaining two games. For the players, there will be Ashes places and, in some cases, international careers on the line.