England washout in warm-up match 'not ideal' preparation, admits batting coach Mark Ramprakash If you haven't had a knock, that's not ideal at all. Of course we've had some good practice facilities - we've been very lucky - but you can't replicate time in the middle. During his brief tenure Ramprakash has at least had the encouragement of Moeen Ali's 56 off 37 balls in the first warm-up. Only when Marcus Trescothick was on song has an England one-day innings been launched so imperiously. "It was fantastic and you don't often see that perhaps from an English player, to go out and play with that flair and confidence," Ramprakash said. We're so pleased that he's done that, and the group as a whole have spoken about trying to release the shackles and play with a no-fear attitude and he certainly did that. Moeen made a real statement there not just to himself but the whole group about the brand of cricket we want to try and play. Essentially the mindset for the England one-day group this winter is to go in and try and put the pressure back on the opposition. Ramprakash was not involved in the decision to promote Moeen and drop Alex Hales. "What I like about Alex Hales is that he's a world-class T20 player with a strike rate of 139 so he's got lots of good things going for him, but there's good competition for places clearly," he said. Fitting a bowler in the top six could be quite important for the balance of the side and that is something for the selectors to consider. I want to give the selectors a headache. I want to try and get as many batsmen up to speed and playing to their potential that they're real options for selectors. I think it's fair to say that England for the World Cup are a wild card. The potential for the group however is there, and I think they can shift quickly because these lines of communication are open between the players and the coaches, and they are willing to evolve. There's a mentality of no fear about underdogs and that could greatly help this England side. The first ball of the middle-practice, from Steven Finn, was hooked by Ian Bell to fine-leg and caught. Bell subsequently had a long chat with Ramprakash, who knows better than anyone that prodigious talent and perfect technique are not sufficient at the highest level.