How successful will be England's ICC T20 World Cup 2022 campaign?

[ex-q-zit]

T20 World Cup: England must recapture Eoin Morgan's attacking style, says Moeen Ali

Friday's washout against Australia left England's hopes hanging in the balance after they followed victory over Afghanistan with a loss to Ireland.

The top order has been unusually subdued, only hitting 15 boundaries across the two completed matches.

"We've got to be brave and play the way we want to play," said Moeen.

"If we're going to win this competition we have to play like that.

"We bat all the way down so we might as well entertain everybody, entertain ourselves and enjoy getting those 70s or 80s off 30 balls because that's what really takes the game away.

"Getting 160-170 on good wickets against good sides makes it too easy for them."

Former skipper Morgan, who retired in the summer before Jos Buttler took over as captain, revolutionised England's white-ball cricket by encouraging an attacking approach from batters, culminating in winning the 2019 50-over World Cup.

Three years on, defeat to Ireland came when, chasing 158, England slipped to 29-3 and struggled to get going in a surprisingly timid batting display.

When rain arrived in the 15th over England were behind the required Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target, despite 24 from 12 balls by Moeen, meaning Ireland claimed a shock five-run win.

"It doesn't mean going out and slogging but playing the way we can do and the reason why we were picked," Moeen said when asked if they needed to adopt Morgan's approach again.

"Put pressure on the bowling and take those risks sometimes.

"Against Ireland if we'd taken a few more risks at the top, which would have been hard, but if we'd put pressure on the bowlers that would have been a different ball game."

New Zealand's crushing 65-run over Sri Lanka on Saturday means the Black Caps, who beat England in last year's semi-final, are in pole position at the top of the group in an otherwise tight race for a place in the last four.

New Zealand's large net run-rate advantage means they will likely be able to lose to England on Tuesday in Brisbane and still progress if they beat Ireland in their final game.

Victory over England would see New Zealand secure their place in the last four with a game to spare as only Australia or Ireland could match their points tally and the top two sides progress.

England must beat both the Black Caps and Sri Lanka in Sydney on Friday and hope others do not overhaul their net run-rate.

"New Zealand are a very dangerous side, one of the great sides around, and we will have to play our best cricket," added Moeen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/63438149

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Updated Group 1 Table with England in a spot of bother:<br><br>Australia have Afghanistan to play<br><br>New Zealand have England and Ireland to play<br><br>England are still to face Sri Lanka & New Zealand<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20WorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20WorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvsIRE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvsIRE</a> <a href="https://t.co/JKPCnZSm5I">pic.twitter.com/JKPCnZSm5I</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1587046908329172992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[MenInG]

England assistant coach Paul Collingwood has backed Ben Stokes to deliver a match-winning display in the crunch T20 World Cup clash with New Zealand.

After their game against Australia had to be abandoned due to bad weather on Friday, England are left needing vital wins to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

It makes victory in their clash against an in-form New Zealand side on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports from 7.30am, essential.

While Stokes has been useful with the ball and had a couple of highlight-reel moments in the field since his T20 return earlier this month, he is averaging just 10.25 with the bat in five matches.

Stokes has registered just eight runs in two innings at the World Cup, a disappointing return given he has been elevated into the top four, and he remains without a half-century in 39 T20 internationals.

Despite speculation about his chronic knee issue, England insist he is fit and available to play in his first limited-overs game against New Zealand since his star showing against them in the 2019 World Cup final.

Collingwood, also Stokes' former team-mate at Durham, pointed out the Test captain often reserves his best performances for when his side needs them most.

"The one person that you want in your team when the pressure is on is Ben Stokes," Collingwood said. "I know well that if it comes down to the crunch that you want a man like Ben Stokes walking out.

"We all know what he's capable of, and not just match-winning innings, but match-winning innings under serious amounts of pressure. It's not just the runs he makes, but it's everything else that he gives.

"We know that if we get it right in the next four games, we've got an opportunity to win a World Cup.

"It's almost into the knockout stages now in terms of how we've got to go about our cricket. It's must-win games."

But he added: "This is why we play the game. These are the positions you want to be in, an opportunity to win a World Cup and tomorrow hopefully kickstarts our momentum."

Eoin Morgan questions why it took so long for the England vs Australia game to be abandoned with the officials delay giving fans false hope
England's bid to bounce back from their Ireland loss was thwarted by a Melbourne washout and more rain is forecast at the Gabba on Tuesday, but the worst of it could be before the sides play in the evening.

"It'll be nice to get the full 40 overs in tomorrow night. Keep our fingers crossed that we get the right conditions to be able to do that," Collingwood said.

"In World Cups, you want to see sides competing against each other, the best sides competing against each other in an equal game.

"So hopefully tomorrow night the rain stays away and we can manage to do that. The boys are very much looking forward to just getting to play some cricket."

England have an opportunity to add the T20 crown to their 50-over title and become the first side to hold both simultaneously. But much will hinge on this match against New Zealand.

After beating Ireland on Monday, Australia have joined New Zealand on five points in the group - two ahead of England - while reducing their net run-rate deficit, which will be decisive if teams finish level on points.

'You have to evolve with the game'

New Zealand's Tim Southee has been a regular presence in T20 World Cups since 2010 and is currently the format's leading international wicket-taker. He promises his team are looking forward to the challenge against England.

"It's always a great game against England and it's always played in pretty good spirit," Southee said.

"It's a game we always look forward to - England have been a great side for a long period of time, they play an exciting brand of cricket so it's always a game that we look forward to."

Southee himself has been a key influence in helping New Zealand successfully defend totals in their victories in this latest World Cup campaign.

"When you're still here after a long period of time, you must have done something right along the way. Hopefully there are many more years to go," he said.

"I think the key for me is continuing to learn and looking at ways to get better, adapting your game and the older you get the more experience you have as well.

"You always have to have the mindset of wanting to improve and get better, whether that's changes of pace, looking at different variations you can bring into your game."

"I've always looked to swing the ball, that's always been something that's stayed true to me," he said.

"The way batters are playing and shots they're playing now, you have to just be not as predictable as you used to be able to.

"There was only a handful of players that used to be able to lap and reverse lap where it's almost par for the course now."

He added: "I'm probably a little bit smarter than what I was back then, [I was] a little bit wet behind the ears in those early years. I guess you have to evolve with the game and if you don't you get left behind."

SKY

 

[sweep_shot]

They have a good chance of getting knocked out.

That loss against Ireland and washout against Australia may hurt them.

 

[Mamoon]

They have been unlucky but Stokes has been awful and Malan should not be playing.

Stokes isn’t the player he once was but he is a man for the big moment. No better time for him to reproduce the magic we all know he is capable of.

 

[James]

<b>The manner of England's victory over New Zealand on Tuesday should reassert Jos Buttler's side as one of the favourites for the Men's T20 World Cup again.</b>

Last week's five-run defeat to Ireland was obviously disappointing.

Yes, if the rain had not come and Moeen Ali had been able to bat just a few more balls they would have won.

But it was a poor performance and England deserved to lose.

In contrast, when the pressure was really on, and when other England white-ball teams have buckled - before the 2019 World Cup-winning team at least - they did pretty much everything right.

Moeen dropped a simple catch to dismiss Glenn Phillips but otherwise England were ruthless against a team many people had as favourites after their 89-run demolition of Australia.

They were ruthless at the toss, having seen the turn offered by the surface in the game between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan earlier in the day and opting to bat first - despite their preference to chase.

They were ruthless with the bat, capitalising on New Zealand's two drops of Buttler. And when the game got tight with the ball, they closed it out expertly.

But what really impressed was the flexibility England showed, both with bat and ball.

England have been criticised for being too rigid in the past. Here they mixed up the batting order - promoting Moeen to attack the spin and then Liam Livingstone to try and accelerate the scoring.

It may not have come off but it was absolutely the correct decision.

Buttler also opened the bowling with Moeen's off-spin and brought on leg-spinner Adil Rashid in the powerplay, something we rarely see him do, which showed a captain and team switched on to the game.

People may still debate Ben Stokes' position in the team after his eight from seven balls down the order but I just cannot imagine an England white-ball team without the all-rounder.

He is the talisman, such a huge figure on the field and in the dressing room, and England still need his wise head and experience.

We should not forget it was Stokes who turned the momentum, as he does so often, by dismissing New Zealand captain Kane Williamson to break what had looked like a match-winning partnership with Phillips.

In a funny sort of way, the long break from last Wednesday's Ireland defeat, following the washout on Friday against Australia, will have done England some good.

It allowed them the break to get away from Melbourne and regroup.

Chris Woakes came into this game under a bit of pressure after his wayward display against Ireland but he did a good job, taking 2-33 from four overs.

It will help him to get rid of the baggage of his previous spell.

The aggressive way Alex Hales batted in his 52 from 40 balls was another positive, as well as the obvious boost England will get from their captain Buttler playing so brilliantly for his 47-ball 73.

This was his 100th T20 international and in his knock he overtook former skipper Eoin Morgan to become England's highest run-scorer in the format.

He is undoubtedly England's greatest T20 player - once again showing he has every shot in the book.

The hit off Trent Boult in the 17th over - a back-of-a-length slower ball smacked back over the bowler's head with a horizontal bat - was a display of brutal, raw power.

Buttler is a very special player and if he carries on in this form it will clearly improve England's chances.

They have to be favourites to progress going into the final round of games, given Australia are still well behind on net run-rate.

We watched Sri Lanka, England's opponents on Saturday, beat Afghanistan earlier in the day and while they did what they had to do to win, Buttler's side should have all of the momentum going to Sydney.

Sri Lanka have not had a very good tournament - their fielding has been wretched at times - and they have lost a number of bowlers to injury.

The pitch can be low and slow in Sydney and we saw in Sri Lanka's shock Asia Cup win they have an attack that can play well in those conditions, but it will also benefit England that they have played on such a surface here in Brisbane.

Australia, meanwhile, play Afghanistan on Friday - a game you would expect them to win emphatically.

All of these predictions come with a health warning, and we will have to keep calculators close by, but the form England showed against New Zealand, added to the fact they will know exactly what is required, means they should have enough to go through.

They will certainly be feeling a lot more confident when they leave Brisbane on Wednesday than when they arrived. Their supporters should too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/63474358

 

[MenInG]

Thrown an international lifeline before the T20 World Cup and encountering new challenges on Australian surfaces, Alex Hales is prepared for England's late tournament push.

Hales' inclusion was as fortuitous as it was unexpected, seemingly out of favour with the England camp, and only coming into the squad as an eleventh-hour replacement for Jonny Bairstow, who suffered a freak injury on the golf course.

Since his re-introduction, the 33-year-old has showed a level of class, underlined by a score of 84 off just 51 balls against the Australians in the build-up to the tournament, banking on Big Bash League experience and free of inhibition on a bouncy Perth pitch.

Hales also flourished with a half-century to sink New Zealand in the last encounter, though the opener admits that the surfaces in October and early November at the T20 World Cup have thrown up different challenges, perhaps forcing a re-think against the new ball.

"It's actually been a little bit different," Hales admitted.

"I think the numbers at the top of the order throughout the tournament have been probably lower than what you usually expect. They've slightly been different to what I've been used to. There's been a fair bit of swing, a bit of seaming bounce, so it's been very difficult. I had to hang in there at times and piece together a contribution the other night."

England made good ground in their World Cup campaign off the back of Hales' work, claiming a 20-run victory over New Zealand, England have both a better net run rate than Australia, and the advantage of playing a day later, knowing what they need to do to lock in a semi-final spot.

Hales feels the flexibility with the bat makes plans easier should they need to accelerate with the bat.

"I think it all comes naturally for us, especially with the layout of our squad playing an extra batter. You've got middle order is so strong, guys who can strike quite easily a 200 strike rate. I think it's a very confident batting unit, and think we'll be able to adapt to whatever tomorrow needs."

Sans Hales in 2021, England looked good value to win the T20 World Cup, only to fall to a five-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand.

The opener yearns to take and run with the chance of playing in a T20 World Cup semi-final, accentuated by the collective competitiveness across the tournament.

"Certainly on a personal level, to have a chance to play knockout cricket in a World Cup would be a very special feeling.

"It's a pretty tight competition, and to get through is difficult; only four out of 16 go through. So you have to beat some very good teams along the way. It would be a good achievement if we can get through, in a pretty tough group in my opinion."

ICC

 

[MenInG]

Should England bring in an extra bowler for their T20 World Cup semi-final at Adelaide Oval? And just how strong are their opponents India?

Those questions were answered by Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton ahead of Thursday's crunch clash, which you can watch from 7am on Sky Sports ahead of an 8am start.

England squeezed past Sri Lanka on Saturday to secure a spot in the knockout stages and now face an India side featuring the top two run-scorers in the Super 12s in Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.

With India having such a talented batting line-up - to Kohli and Suryakumar, you can add skipper Rohit Sharma, opening partner KL Rahul and, if selected, Rishabh Pant - and Adelaide Oval having short square boundaries, Hussain and Atherton think England may consider bringing in seamer Chris Jordan for his first appearance of the tournament.

The likelihood is that England will be forced into at least one change with batter Dawid Malan (groin) appearing to face an uphill battle in his bid to be fit and Phil Salt primed to slot in at No 3.

Salt likely to play - but what about Jordan?

Hussain told Sky Sports: "I wouldn't want to make too many changes for a massive game like this. Salt played really well in the T20 series in Pakistan ahead of the World Cup so I would go for him.

"He would be batting slightly out of position at No 3 as he likes to open, but in the top three in the powerplay there is not that much difference.

"I know [former England captain] Eoin Morgan would maybe make one more change and bring Jordan in. That could be a straight swap for Malan or it could be for someone like Harry Brook who has had a quiet tournament with the bat.

"That's nothing against Brook but on this ground you might just want that extra bowling option, especially to bowl full and straight at the death. I would make just the one change but England might want the extra bowling option because of India's batting."

Atherton added: "I'd be thinking about Jordan because from watching New Zealand vs Ireland and India vs Bangladesh in Adelaide, sixes at the end of the innings where when anyone went into the pitch. It was easy. Full and straight was less easy to hit.

"At most of the grounds in Australia, you want to be into the pitch and looking to get batters hitting square, here you want them to hit down the ground so you want to be up in the blockhole.

"Jordan does that as well as anybody, but David Willey also offers an option and gives you a bit of batting, so there are alternatives. I'd think about having an extra bowling option."

I think it will be the first time England's players have got a sense of occasion in this World Cup. England have not been in India and Pakistan's group and those two teams have really driven the crowds in this tournament. What would have been England's big crowd against Australia at the MCG was washed out.


Will pressure get to India in Adelaide?

Suryakumar is the leading run-scorer in T20 international cricket in 2022, with his 1,026 in 28 innings this calendar year including a century against England at Trent Bridge in July and nine fifties.

Three of those half-centuries have come in this tournament, including one against Zimbabwe on Sunday when he struck an unbeaten 61 from 25 balls and displayed his full array of shots, particularly over the leg-side.

Kohli, meanwhile, has notched three fifties in four innings, including a masterful unbeaten 82 as India beat Pakistan off the last ball in a Melbourne thriller this month.

India won that pressure match - but have lost in the semi-finals of the last two 50-over World Cups and were also eliminated at the same stage of the 2016 T20 World Cup on home turf before being dumped out in the opening round of last year's tournament in the UAE.

Hussain said: "India have fallen at this stage in recent ICC events, maybe because of the pressure of a knockout game. You go from hero to zero very quickly as an Indian cricketer.

"England captain [Jos Buttler] was speaking on a podcast about the 2019 50-over World Cup final [when England beat New Zealand].

"At one stage he wanted to scoop even though fine leg and third man were back. He thought, 'should I in a World Cup final? Yes, that's my shot'.

"That's the challenge for India, to play that attacking style. Suryakumar has this fearless attitude about him. Can he and will he play exactly the same way in a knockout game? I think he will.

'India can definitely be beaten'

"India might also get a little bit stronger as there are rumours Pant might play [instead of Dinesh Karthik]. Rishabh's record against England is phenomenal, he plays Adil Rashid very well and is also very good square of the wicket. He would be a threat.

"India do have a formidable line-up but only two are in real form at the minute in Kohli and Suryakumar. India lost to South Africa and only just got over the line against Pakistan, so they definitely can be beaten.

"If Kohli and Suryakumar are smashing it everywhere, suddenly you realise the occasion and England will be playing against the crowd, so how England handle that will be vital.

"What will help them is that they have a number of players who have played in the IPL so will know that atmosphere."

England's Super 12 campaign started with a stuttering win over Afghanistan before a meek defeat to Ireland, a washout against hosts Australia, a clinical victory over New Zealand and then that nervy triumph against Sri Lanka as they slumped from 75-0 to 129-6 before reaching their target of 142 with two balls to spare.

Ben Stokes reflects on his match-winning innings against Sri Lanka and looks ahead to the semi-final against India
Atherton added: "I spoke to Jos and he said the feeling after Sri Lanka was not one of elation, but real disappointment at the level of performance as they feel they should have won that game two or three down with three or four overs to spare at a bit of a canter.

"I don't think they feel they have played at their best yet but if you look at last year's tournament, you'd say exactly that about Australia [who were thrashed by England in the group stage before going on to win the trophy].

"You almost forget the first stage now - what's happened has happened and I'm not sure it has a great deal of relevance to what's coming up."

SKY