England's New Order Offers Hope for the Future Despite Defeat at Ageas Bowl

England may now find themselves 2-1 down in the one-day series against New Zealand, but they should not be too downhearted.

It says much about how far Eoin Morgan’s team has come in such a short space of time that there was an air of disappointment at the Ageas Bowl when they only made 302 in the third ODI.

The hosts looked set to post a seriously big score when they sat at 288 for five with 51 deliveries to go in their innings.

However, they lost their last five wickets for 14 runs to be bowled out in 45.2 overs. In being aggressive, they had fallen into the trap of failing to use up all the balls they had at their disposal.

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It proved costly too, as the Kiwis—powered by centuries from the experienced duo of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor—went on to chase down their target, with three wickets and six deliveries to spare.

England could look back at what might have been, though there were still plenty of positives to take out of the loss.

Their new outlook to 50-over cricket at the start of the summer has done much to wipe away the nightmare campaign at the Cricket World Cup. The crowd, unsurprisingly, went flat during the batting collapse, but they will keep the faith while they can see signs of growth.

Morgan admitted to Sky Sports there was a new approach: "I think for a while now we've always played within ourselves and always batted up before the end but for a long time we were looking like getting 350 plus and that's exciting to see, particularly when we're trying to change our mentality with the bat.”

There will be bumps along the way of course, but results are not the main priority at this stage.

Even still, as Charlie Reynolds pointed out on Twitter, England did still create a bit of history in defeat:

It begs the question, are the scores being posted in the series just down to a new, attacking outlook?

That might be the foundation for what is happening, yet there are other reasons why 300 is now viewed as a “pretty good score,” as Morgan said in the Sky Sports interview after the loss in Southampton.

When England returned home after their miserable World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand, it was clear changes needed to be made.

Ian Bell has been pushed aside at the top of the order, replaced by Jason Roy who, while not quite as aesthetically pleasing, has a List A strike rate of 106.91.

Roy, together with fellow opener Alex Hales, is there to make the most of the opening power play. He likes to score quickly—in four-day cricket the right-hander smashed 111 runs in a session while playing for Surrey.

Another player who has quickly built a big reputation in domestic action is Sam Billings.

A wicketkeeper-batsman from Kent, Billings has been asked to bat at seven in the order. It is not an easy role, considering you often arrive at the crease knowing quick runs are needed.

His first two outings did not go according to plan (he made three and 12), but at the Ageas Bowl he showed his talents by making 34 in just 16 balls.

Roy and Billings are not just batsmen with a desire to dominate. They are also fresh into the international setup, new faces not carrying any baggage from what has happened previously.

England has tried their Test players in the format—Bell, Gary Ballance and former captain Alastair Cook being three such examples—as they have not grasped what is required in a batsman to thrive.

Of those who have been around for a while and have the selectors have kept faith in, the decision has been taken by team management to move them all up the order.

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Joe Root has spent the vast majority of his ODI career at four, but has now been pushed up one spot. He has responded to the switch by hitting 164 runs in three innings against the Kiwis.

His ascension to three has also allowed captain Morgan to come in at four, and he has since hit three successive half-centuries, not bad for a man who mustered a grand total of 90 runs in five innings at the World Cup.

Jos Buttler has also had a promotion. Now batting at six, he gets more time to play, and that can only be a good thing.

The wicketkeeper-batsman has a simple policy, as he told Scyld Berry of the Telegraph: “My method is to score as many runs as I can as quick as I can.”

Ben Stokes—overlooked for the World Cup but now an integral part of the national team in all forms of the game—seems to work to the same rule as Buttler.

The Durham all-rounder made 68 from 47 balls at the Ageas Bowl, gathering such a head of steam that he couldn’t slow down when he was stuck with only the tail for company at the end.

Stokes was the eighth wicket to fall, bowled by Ben Wheeler when looking to launch the seamer into the sea.

It could have been considered a careless way to go. The home team needed to see out their 50 overs, but the left-hander was only thinking of playing big shots.

Yet Stokes, and the rest of the side, should be forgiven for being too bold.

With new faces, a batting order that looks more logical and a newfound desire to express themselves, England can afford the odd setback for the greater good. They're in it for the long haul.