The execution of the plan may have been woeful, but England made an important breakthrough against Australia A at the SCG on Sunday.

Far be it for me to infer that England normally go into one-day matches without a plan - that would be doing Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher a mighty disservice just when they need our backing more than ever.

It's just that, on Sunday, they appeared to have hit upon the right one - and just because it did not work out does not mean it should be immediately binned.

Leave aside the performance, that is for another discussion, and just think about how England gave themselves the very best chance of beating a side that would test any other first string in the world, including Australia's.

Australia A were restricted to 205 and inside 13 overs England had reached 77-2. With plenty of options to come it was pretty much an ideal situation to push on for the win.

It was magnificent to sit in the stands and realise that England had switched things around, opting for the modern-day version of Sri Lanka's World Cup-winning policy of a pinch-hitter at the top of the order.

Leafy penned a magnificent article a few months back, before England had left for Australia and when even the most sceptical fan could never have imagined going 10 games without a win, detailing just how they should go about winning one day games.

Admittedly, Hussain and co have probably not logged onto barmy-army.com over the last two months - more fool them! - but on Sunday it was almost as if our esteemed leader had chosen the side himself.

I say almost, because the make-up of the team raised a few eyebrows, with Robert Key in the middle order, Alec Stewart buried at nine and Adam Hollioake, who was last week included in England's provisional World Cup squad, still at home.

But it was a warm-up match, we have injuries and the fact is that, while the personnel may differ, the intent to play the game in a positive manner, to attack the bowling from the off and consolidate in the middle order, was clear and must remain so.

That it did not work against Australia's second string is another, quite different, concern, but England must be roundly applauded for finally taking the plunge and employing a gameplan they have mulled over for the last year or so.

Craig White may have failed to prove the experiment a resounding success with his early run-out, but they should stick by it through to the World Cup in southern Africa next year, by which time the players will be used to the system. Perhaps, though, it should be Stewart who opens.

Ronnie Irani's 33 from 22 balls coming in at number three highlights the benefit of using players up the order who are not scared to exploit the fielding restrictions and hit over the top.

It also indicated the importance of England reacting to the situation with a flexible batting order, to make best use of the variety of options at hand.

On Sunday the choices were good, with the bright start laying a solid foundation for the more classical batsmen to knock off the runs - that they failed to is no fault of the plan.

After Irani's knock, England's charge to a first win eventually faltered because Australia A put the squeeze on the middle order and Hussain, Key, Stewart and co couldn't free the shackles.

Hussain was guilty of a painfully slow innings, unsure quite whether to nurdle the singles or go for his shots, but he too should be applauded for dropping into the pressured middle order from his preferred number three spot for the good of the team.

There was inexperience in some key positions, but given time the middle order will adapt to the gameplan, particularly when Michael Vaughan is fully fit and in the side.

Andrew Flintoff is still struggling after his operation, but he is a dangerous player for England while Ian Blackwell's brief cameo at number seven indicated he was not overawed by the size of the task.

So the wealth of options are there for England to continue with the gameplan through to the World Cup.

Whatever the situation demands, there is a suitable answer - the bustling styles of Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight, Irani, White or Hollioake; the big-hitting prowess of Blackwell (whose left-arm spin, incidentally, was one of the highlights of the game at the SCG) and Flintoff or the consolidation brought by Hussain, Vaughan or Owais Shah in the middle.

And so if England can stick by their new-found guns and maintain the gameplan - take the bowlers on early and adapt to the situation with a flexible middle order - through to the World Cup in southern Africa, there is a decent chance it could come good.

We may have had to put up with another embarrasing defeat on Sunday, but the wheels are in motion, the ideas are fresh and come the World Cup....well, you never know.

© Barmy Army