While the England Test squad has been jolted out of its slump and is right back on track, the England Twenty20 team has lost another series a few months ahead of ICC World T20. England’s 2-1 loss against India may be attributed to the unavailability of key players, due to injury and workload balance. They’ve had two rough outings in a row since new coach Matthew Mott took over two months ago, however, they bounced back in the last Twenty20 match to avoid a clean sweep.
However, this is their third loss in a row in a series and their second loss in a row overall. Prior to this, they won seven out of eight, drawing the other one.
With only 97 days till the start of the T20 World Cup, even after their consolation win at Trent Bridge, many more questions remain. Let’s take a look at how the England team could shape up in the months to come for T20 World Cup.
How could the England team shape up for WT20?
Jos Buttler, England’s captain, will open the batting when the Three Lions take on Afghanistan in their World Cup opener in Perth on October 22. He will likely be joined by Jason Roy, who despite scoring 31 runs from 43 balls in three innings against India, is considered England’s best bet at the top order.
Adil Rashid, who missed the India series for the Hajj pilgrimage will return to fulfill his role as a world-class leg-spinner. Jonny Bairstow, on the back of his excellent test form, will return to boost the middle order. His big-hitting was seen in the shortest format long before his recent red-ball run.
Mark Wood is also out with an elbow injury. His reappearance has been postponed, and we have no idea when he will make another appearance at this time. These two bowlers are the backbone of England’s pace attack, and they have the talent and temperament to lead England to victory.
However, with the exception of Liam Livingstone’s job as the finisher and the strong possibility of Dawid Malan’s position at number three, there are not many others who are certain to have their roles defined.
The pace bowling has been England’s biggest takeaway from this series, and this is an encouraging thing, for a team that has been hit with injuries.
The standouts were Richard Gleeson and Chris Jordan. Gleeson got rid of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rishabh Pant in his first eight deliveries in international cricket, and Jordan grabbed eight wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 7.25. Jordan’s performance was impressive.
Reece Topley was equally outstanding, claiming three wickets while allowing only 22 runs in the high-scoring final game, where a total of 413 runs were scored from both sides.
However, it is still uncertain who will be England’s first-choice attackers, and there is a lingering feeling that the team lacks the talent necessary to win a world cup.
While they have Jofra Archer, who can do that when he is fit. The 2019 World Cup is the highlight of his career, where he wreaked havoc against opponent teams. However, elbow and back issues have kept him off the field since March 2021.
Archer is expecting to return to bowling by September and is still eyeing a spot in the World Cup squad, however, this is widely seen as an improbable scenario.
Mark Wood is also out with an elbow injury. His reappearance has been postponed, and we have no idea when he will make another appearance at this time. These two bowlers are the backbone of England’s pace attack, and they have the talent and temperament to lead England to victory.
With batters and bowlers out of the conversation, let’s take about all-rounders, who provide balance to the team. England’s victory in the third T20 came after they altered their lineup by starting with an additional batter in favor of an all-rounder (Sam Curran) in an effort to find a better balance. Despite the fact, that it has borne fruit, with Moeen Ali at six and Brook at seven, the lineup as a whole appears more formidable.
Another match-winner, Ben Stokes, has opted to miss this series. Even though he hasn’t played for the T20 side in over a year and a half, he’s repeatedly shown what he can do with the white ball. Just ask New Zealand, a country still recovering from the emotional effects of the 2019 ODI World Cup Final. Considering that Stokes is still in the squad for the three-game one-day international series, it is safe to say that he has not completely abandoned the white ball.
After the returns of Rashid, Bairstow, and Stokes, England’s XI will shape into one of the best sides, at least on paper. Any more returns will be icing on the cake.
