- Monday, May 13, 2024
England, who are the reigning world champions in T20 cricket, will face Scotland in their first match of the T20 World Cup in Barbados on June 4.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THEY might be the reigning world champions in T20 cricket but that doesn’t make England a relaxed side ahead of their title defence campaign in June.
The Three Lions played in another World Cup — the 50-over one in India last year — after the 2022 triumph in Australia but were far from their best to end up seventh to manage an entry in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
The country’s cricket hierarchy is now set to meet this week to pick the squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 to be played in the West Indies and the USA from June 1.
While England may take encouragement from the fact that they had won the T20 World Cup crown when it was last played in the Caribbeans in 2010, captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott would also have in their mind the 2023 World Cup where England failed miserably to defend their 2019 crown.
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A repeat of that show in India could lead to serious consequences for either Buttler or Mott and put the team’s managing director Rob Key in a difficult position in his two-year tenure. The Three Lions must reach the semi-finals of the upcoming tournament to avoid a major repercussion at home.
England are clubbed with arch-rivals Australia, Namibia, Scotland and Oman in Group B in the competition and will launch their campaign against Scotland in Barbados on June 4. Only the top two teams from the group will advance to the Super 8 stage.
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According to a report by the BBC, “England are still a very good white-ball team, albeit one in transition. Whether or not Buttler and Mott are the ones to mould the next generation depends on what happens next.
The captain and coach can rightly point to a shift in the priorities of the English game. Test cricket is king again, as shown by Ben Stokes skipping this World Cup to get himself back to full fitness for the home summer. England rarely have a full-strength team outside of global tournaments.”
Buttler has of late found his touch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he has already hit two hundreds and will spearhead a side in the World Cup having some explosive names such as Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Harry Brook.
Jonny Bairstow also has had enough match practices in India over the past many months, playing in the World Cup, a five-match Test series earlier in the year and the IPL. Recently, he slammed a ballistic hundred for Punjab Kings that saw them chase down a record target of 262 in 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders. If he is picked in the World Cup, match-conditioned Bairstow should fulfil his batting potential.
Slow bowlers are expected to play a key role in the Caribbean pitches in the World Cup and Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali could play big roles there. There are also names such as Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley, who had impressed during the Test series in India; Adil Rashid, the No.1 bowler in T20s at the moment, and Jacks who produces impressive off-breaks, for the selectors to pick from.
Another key name in the England ranks could be speedster Jofra Archer. After being sidelined for almost a year due to elbow injury, the Caribbean-born pacer is said to be on track for making an international comeback.
It will be interesting to see whether England fast-tracks Archer’s comeback as they did in the past but picking him for a World Cup to be played at his place of birth could make it a wonderful occasion for the pacer to deliver.
England are currently the second-ranked T20 side in the world. A little better preparation for the marquee tournament unlike the 2023 World Cup could lead to better results for the side. In 2010, the team’s results were unexpected since the squad was thrown together at the last moment. This time, they are the reigning champions.